


Technicolor Souls

by SereneSorrow



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Batman Beyond, Batman: The Animated Series, DC Animated Universe, Green Arrow - All Media Types, Under the Red Hood
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Drug Use, F/M, I don't know anything about drugs so it's vague, M/M, also drunkeness, darn it Roy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-15
Updated: 2018-04-04
Packaged: 2018-07-15 03:52:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 34,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7206575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SereneSorrow/pseuds/SereneSorrow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tim loved watching (and photographing) Batman and Robin, but the new Robin made him see the whole world differently.<br/>Batman thought all he needed was his mission, but maybe his soulmate was the mission.<br/>Nightwing looked forward to meeting his soulmate his entire life, but now he'll never find him unless he can look backward.<br/>Soulmate AU where you see color for the first time when you meet (or see) either your soulmate or your mortal enemy, but only superheroes, super-villains and over-dramatic people have mortal enemies.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story was supposed to be all in one, but it got so long that I decided to break it up in chapters so the breaks between the first two or three chapters aren't in good places, it's just the spaces that were already there when time jumped forward in the story.  
> Crayons are in this universe made/used to help people identify colors when they first start seeing in color, that's why there are such huge boxes of crayola crayons, so if you can only see one or two colors you pick the one colored crayon out of the box of 64 grey crayons and read the label to know what color it is you can see now. I actually read like half the Crayola Wikipedia article for some reason.

     Tim loved looking up at them as they flew. It was beautiful, the capes fluttering and catching the wind and Robin's smile flashing, the speed and balance. Batman and Robin were his heroes. He knew he shouldn't be out tonight, and in this neighborhood, he had heard that Joker had escaped from Arkham again but he knew what almost no one else had noticed. That there was a new Robin. He watched as the heroes landed on the edge of a rooftop across from him and paused, Batman raising a pair of binoculars. Robin crouched on the ledge and scanned the area around them while Batman focused on whatever he was looking for.  
     Tim raised his camera, centering on Robin through the lens and thumb hovering over the button when suddenly Robin was staring right at him, leaning forward a bit and his costume...it wasn't black and grey anymore. It was some other color, a _color!_ Tim couldn't move, he could only stare through the camera at the color he could see, trying to memorize it. Then Robin's head snapped around so suddenly that Tim flinched and hit the button and by the time the picture was taken Batman and Robin had lept from the roof and were soaring away.  
     Tim turned and started the long walk home, he wouldn't be fast enough to follow Batman and Robin now that they had found whatever they had been looking for. On the way home he thought about the new Robin.  
     Tim had figured out over a year ago that Bruce Wayne and Richard Grayson were Batman and Robin. The characters they played in front of everyone at parties, some of which Tim had attended with his parents, were so similar to how Tim had to act for his parents that he knew they were just misdirecting everyone's attention from their real identities. Bruce Wayne's second son, Jason Todd was Robin now, ever since Dick Grayson became Nightwing. Tim hadn't been to an event at Wayne manor since Jason had been adopted, and he usually dreaded any social event his parents took him to as they paid him even less attention in company than they did at home but for once he looked forward to a social event. He would be able to meet his soulmate officially, they could talk and spend time together, Jason probably wouldn't ignore him like his parents did. He felt a nice feeling swelling in his chest, something he had only felt a few times before in his life, when someone praised him without mocking or when someone sat with him at lunch. Joy, happiness, Tim realized now that that must be what this feeling was.  
     When he got home his parents were nowhere to be found, but that was better than if he had interrupted an argument at least, and Tim hurried upstairs to hide his camera. Tim looked around his bedroom taking note of everything that now had a splash of the color on it. There were so many things, it was so startling to realize that everything around him was colorful after ten years of black and white and every shade of grey in between. He moved over to his desk and pulled the box of 64 crayons out of the drawer, flipping it open and searching over the grey crayons for the color he could see. He pulled it out of the box and turned the label until he could read the name: Maximum Red.  
***  
     “The Joker isn't someone to underestimate Robin, keep your head in the game.” Batman snapped over the com in Robin's ear.  
     “I know Batman! I heard you the first time!” Robin hissed back. It wasn't like he was trying to lose focus, he just had a hard time ignoring the red he had been seeing everywhere for the past week. Ever since he had seen the kid with the camera he'd been seeing the color, which was officially called Maximum Red, but Bruce had been so angry with him for breaking that criminal's arm that he refused to listen to Jason's 'excuses'. So much for needing to know every variable of a situation, _if Bruce wouldn't let Jason talk about what was bothering him then how was he supposed to keep Bruce informed of everything he 'needed to know' anyway?_  
     Robin clenched his jaw and ignored the splashes of red that sprayed the walls around him, recently spilled from the bodies he had to walk around. _Why was red the color his soulmate had given him?_ In color, blood elicited such a visceral reaction that he was on edge. He was distracted. Which is probably why he didn't see the difference between the red all around him and the red of Harley Quinn's costume as she swung her hammer at his head.  
     When he woke up the first thing he could see was another color. He didn't know the name of it, he'd had to ask Alfred who brought him a box of crayons to identify 'Maximum Red' before he had known what to call the first color, but it was only on the suit of the man standing with his back turned in front of him. He recognized the face from the files on Batman's computer, Joker. That couldn't be good, seeing another color, _did that make Joker his mortal enemy?_ Whatever was going to happen next was going to be really bad, Robin realized. A mortal enemy wasn't going to go easy on him for being a kid, and if Batman wasn't already here then he had to get out of this on his own.  
     Joker turned to him with a smile twisted wide. “Bird-boy you're awake! How about we play a game before Batsy gets here?” The laugh that followed made nails on a chalkboard sound like heavens angels singing.  
***  
     It had been nearly a month since Tim had last seen Batman and Robin out on patrol. He had memorized the routes they usually took on nights when nothing big happened, that was usually when he followed them, but neither of them had been on patrol since the night Tim had begun seeing red. Tim was heading out of the house, his camera hidden in the backpack thrown over his shoulder, when he overheard the news his parents were watching in the living room.  
     “...Jason Todd, the ward of Bruce Wayne has reportedly been killed in a bombing in Sarajevo...”  
     The backpack fell to the ground with a loud thump as Tim turned and ran back to his room. _It can't be! Jason Todd, the new Robin can't be dead! How can Robin be dead? If Jason is dead then Robin is dead, his soulmate is dead._ The thought just kept circling in his mind, over and over; _Jason is dead, Robin is dead, his soulmate is dead._  
     With tears already falling Tim began pulling every item in his room that had even a hint of red on it down and gathered it all on his bed.  
     “Why the hell are you making all this noise!” Jack Drake shouts, slamming the door open and throwing the backpack against the far wall. “It's midnight, just go to sleep!”  
     Tim cringed back from his father as the door slammed shut again behind him when he left the room. Tim gathered the rest of the red around him and crawled onto his bed, curling up in the pile of his color to sob himself to sleep.  
***  
     Over the following three weeks Tim could hardly stop crying and his parents were shouting at him for it more and more often but he just couldn't make it stop. He had developed his most recent pictures, the last ones he would be able to take of his soulmate. His camera was broken from the collision with the wall when his father had thrown his backpack and he hadn't done anything to fix it. He hadn't gone out to follow Batman either, but he had been following the news on the TV in one of the rooms his parents never used, where he had dragged a number of his red items and curled up in a red blanket sitting on the red sofa. His parents didn't notice his breakdowns unless he was in a more used part of the house when he started crying and if they happened to see him collecting red items they didn't bother him about it because they didn't realize what the items had in common. Jack and Janet weren't soulmates, they couldn't see the red, they had no idea he'd lost his soulmate. The reports he was hearing about Batman, when he could focus enough outside himself to hear the broadcasts, depicted a violent and almost savage protector of Gotham. He could tell that Batman wasn't taking Robin's death any better then he was. No one else seemed to realize that Robin was dead, sure the absence of a brightly colored sidekick had been noticed but even Gothamites seemed to think that Batman wouldn't bring his kid sidekick along if he was beating the pulp out of every criminal he could find.  
     Tim had a plan. It had come to him while he wallowed in front of the television and it wasn't a very well thought out plan but he was too upset to think it through. Which was how a few evenings later Tim found himself standing outside Wayne Manor with a backpack full of hundreds of photos of Batman and Robin. The door was answered by Mr. Pennyworth, Mr. Wayne's butler, who smiled down at him. Tim had managed to stop the flood of tears before he had knocked on the door but he knew his eyes would still be watery.  
     “Can I help you young man?”  
     “May I speak with Bruce Wayne please?” Tim asked him.  
     “May I ask what this is regarding?”  
     “It's important.” Tim said.  
     “I see, well come in then, I will inquire as to whether Master Bruce has a moment to see you.”  
     Mr. Pennyworth led Tim to a sitting room to wait in and Tim was too nervous to sit, instead he clutched the straps of his backpack and rocked back and forth slightly. Tim didn't keep track of the time so he wasn't sure how long it was before Bruce Wayne strode in, followed discreetly by Mr. Pennyworth.  
     “You didn't give Alfred your name.” Bruce said, sitting in a chair near where Tim was still standing.  
     Tim studied him for a moment. Mr. Wayne looked tired, and very sad. “Tim Drake. I've been to some parties here with my parents.”  
     “Ah, well what can I do for you Tim?” Mr. Wayne asked.  
     Tim pulled his backpack off and knelt down in front of Mr. Wayne, opening the zipper and dumping out all of the photos, so many more of the first Robin than of the second. He pulled out one that he knew was of Jason and handed it to Bruce. “Jason was my soulmate.” Tim said, hugging the empty backpack tightly. “I've seen red ever since I took his picture.” Tim couldn't look up from the photos when he started crying again. Suddenly strong arms were around him and Mr. Wayne was holding him to his chest. Tim tucked his head under Mr. Wayne's chin and cried harder into his shirt. It was strange and unfamiliar, Jack hadn't held him any of the times he had seen Tim crying, Tim hadn't expected him to, Jack and Janet had hardly touched him at all the past few years, only a hand on his shoulder if they had to pose for a press photo. Mr. Wayne hugging him now was confusing but somewhere inside his chest he felt a warmth and fuzziness blanket over the pain that felt so crippling. It was still there but here in Mr. Wayne's arms it was lessened somehow. When he managed to stop crying again Mr. Wayne handed him a handkerchief and led him to the sofa, and Mr. Pennyworth set a cup of tea on the table in front of him.  
     “How did you manage to take all of those pictures Tim?” Mr. Wayne asked.  
     “I followed Batman, I figured out his patrol routes, they changed when the new Robin started patrolling. They stopped going over Crime Alley, Batman patrolled there without Robin, and Robin hadn't patrolled on his own yet.” Tim explained as he wiped his face with the handkerchief.  
     “It's very dangerous in Gotham at night Tim, you shouldn't be following Batman. Do your parents know you're doing this?”  
     “They wouldn't care anyway.” Tim sniffed. He saw the looks the adults passed over his head and knew that they were communicating something about him but for once he couldn't feel his usual annoyance when adults discounted his intelligence. That didn't mean he wanted them treating him like a baby, he was ten years old after all, he could understand them just fine if they would just talk to him. “What are you talking about?” He cut into their silent conversation.  
     Mr. Wayne and Mr. Pennyworth seemed surprised at his notice and for a moment neither of them spoke. “We were both just thinking that it's not very nice of your parents to let you wander around the city at night.” Mr. Wayne said eventually.  
     “You let J- Robin out at night.” Tim stumbled over his soulmate's name but he was determined not to cry again so soon when Mr. Wayne seemed to be willing to talk to him properly, no matter how awful he still felt.  
     “Well he was a little older than you, he had training, and I was always meant to be nearby.” Tim thought Mr. Wayne looked a little guilty, _how had Robin died? Was Batman too far away? Was it Batman's fault?_ Tim's eyes widened at the thought, maybe that's why he was hurting all the criminals more than usual instead of just being sad like Tim was. He didn't want to think that Batman wasn't a responsible guardian, but parents didn't pay much attention to their children, Jack probably wouldn't notice if Tim was in trouble _so could Batman be expected to be around more than any other parent?_ Tim didn't think so but somehow it seemed disappointing, like he'd expected Batman to be capable of the impossible when Tim knew that nothing Batman did was impossible, it was just that it was rare for anyone to work as hard or pay as much attention as they really could and Batman was one of the rare people who did.  
     Mr. Wayne seemed to notice that he was troubled, but he didn't mention it. Instead he asked about Tim's pictures. “Most of those can't be Jason, he hasn't been out long enough for you to have found us so many times.”  
     “No, I only have a few of J-Jason, I only saw him on patrol once.” He saw Mr. Pennyworth reaching to pick up the photos he'd spilled and Tim jumped up from the sofa to pick them up himself.  
     “Master Drake, you don't need to interrupt your conversation, I can clean this up for you just fine.”  
     “I have a system, it's all out of order now, I shouldn't have spilled them like this.” Tim said, picking up each photo carefully and arranging them all in their proper place. For once he was so distracted that he didn't see the looks the adults were passing over his head.  
***  
     Bruce followed Alfred into the hall where they could watch through the doorway as Tim sorted his photos. “It can't have been long since they saw each other, it must have been just before...” Bruce trailed off.  
     “I must confess sir, Master Jason begged my confidence but he informed me that he was seeing a color just days before your, your trip. We looked through the crayons together.” Alfred told him.  
     “You knew about this?”  
     “Not much, Sir. Only that he was seeing the color 'Maximum Red', anything else he kept to himself.”  
     Bruce sighed heavily. “The Drakes. They live next door, but I don't remember how old their son is.”  
     “He is rather small for his age Master Bruce, but I believe he should be about ten years old.”  
     Still far too young to lose a soulmate. Bruce sighed again and looked up, eyes landing on a photo of Jason that hung on the wall nearby. “Well I suppose I need to call his parents and let them know he's here.” The look Alfred sent him seemed surprised that Bruce had realized this on his own, making Bruce wonder if he was really so irresponsible in his public persona that he would be expected to endanger a child by letting them wander around to their neighbor's homes without their parents knowledge.  
     “You shouldn't call them, they just left for Brazil today, they probably wouldn't answer anyway.” Bruce started at the voice, amazed that he hadn't noticed Tim finish sorting his photos and start towards them.  
     “Well whoever they hired to look after you while they are gone will need to know where to find you, they must be looking for you?” Alfred inquired.  
     “I can look after myself, I'm not a baby.” Tim looked surprised that they thought someone would be watching him and Bruce grew concerned by that response. _Did Tim's parents leave him alone?_  
***  
     “Dick, we need to talk.”  
     “I'm not in the mood Bruce. I need to catch some sleep before patrol.” Dick said, storming past Bruce and up the stairs.  
     “Dick I need to tell you something.”  
     _Bruce was following him. Great._ “Not right now Bruce.”  
     Bruce grabbed ahold of Dick's sleeve and dragged him to a stop. Turning Dick to look at him. “Dick, this is important.” Before he could say another word though, another voice interrupted them.  
     “Nightwing?” A sleepy voice whispered.  
     Dick spun around not even noticing his sleeve slipping from Bruce's grip and the man's stiffening posture. He took in the small boy hovering in the doorway rubbing sleep from his eyes. “Wait, why did you call me Nightwing?” Dick said in a rush as he realized just what the kid had said. The kid was tiny, Dick wasn't sure how old he was but he could already feel the anger rising in his chest at the clear proof that Bruce was replacing Jason.  
     “Bruce what is this!” He demanded, trying not to get too angry in front of this tiny little kid.

     “He knows who we are, he's been following us on patrol and taking pictures.” Bruce said laying a hand on his shoulder.  
     Dick just gaped at the kid for a minute. He was staring at Dick's shirt, his eyes were grey from crying and almost black from lack of sleep and it wasn't like Dick could be mad at him for being a foolhardy kid but this was crazy.  
     “Tim is our neighbor actually, his parents are out of town and I thought it would be better if he slept over until we could track down his parents than sending him back to an empty house.” Bruce explained.  
     Dick's eyes widened at that, realizing that this wasn't yet another orphan Batman had rescued but that Tim had sought out Batman on his own and Bruce was just trying to help a kid who was being left dangerously unsupervised. Dick felt the anger drain away and his usual cheery side took over as he knelt down in front of Tim. “Hey Tim. Nice to meet you. You should probably call me Dick though, not Nightwing.”  
     “Oh, sorry.” Tim said, still rubbing at his tired eyes.  
     “You should get back to sleep kid. Come on.” Dick said, steering Tim back into the guestroom and lifting him up onto the bed so Tim wouldn't have trouble with how high the bed stood when he was so tired. “We can talk some more in the morning okay Tim?”  
     “Okay.” Tim answered as his eyes drifted shut again and Dick tucked the blanket around him.  
     Closing the door behind him Dick looked up at Bruce who hadn't moved throughout Dick's interactions with Tim. “So what are you going to do about that?” Dick asked as he followed Bruce back to his study.  
     “I don't know. I believe that he can be trusted to _want_ to keep our secret, but as you saw he identified you while he was sleep deprived. First of all I need to find out what exactly is going on in the Drake home though, if he's really being left alone...” Bruce drifted off.  
     “Then we have to do something. We can't just leave him like this.” Dick agreed. He didn't want to replace his little brother but he wasn't going to leave another kid in a dangerous situation no matter what was going on in his own life.  
***  
     Red Robin soared over the rooftops letting out a loud laugh. He loved flying, it reminded him of Jason. Everything about being a Robin reminded him of Jason, but so much of it was in a good way. He had even designed his costume to be almost entirely red, the color Jason had given him, and added the 'red' to Red Robin for him. He may not have his soulmate with him in body but it was like his spirit flew over the rooftops beside him.  
     Being Red Robin was amazing, he loved the flying most but helping Batman take down criminals and helping people who needed them felt so fulfilling. He felt happier in a fight at Batman's side then he could ever remember being at home with his parents.  
     Tonight was his first solo patrol, it had taken three years of training to get to this point and he knew he wasn't as skilled as either of his predecessors but he always trained as hard as he could. Bruce hadn't wanted to train him at first, but he had let Tim into the Bat-cave, to see Jason's memorial. Tim had even been at the bat-computer for a number of Batman's cases and helped solve all of them so Bruce had eventually agreed to let Tim help him officially. He had a communicator in his ear and a tracker in his suit but those were just precautions, the Bat-suit had them too.  
     Honestly, Red Robin wasn't sure if he would be on patrol alone tonight if Joker and Harley Quinn hadn't broken out of New Arkham. Batman was out following leads on them and Batgirl was away at college so someone had to patrol. Though Red Robin wondered if Batman was keeping him away from the Joker case on purpose. He'd helped take down the Joker a few times before, but he knew he had made stupid mistakes. Every time they faced Joker though, he was just so angry. _How could he fight the madman that had killed his soulmate and not try to hit him harder than any other criminal?_ Sometimes Red Robin thought about killing Joker. He knew Batman would never allow it, it was against everything he stood for, but what Joker had taken would never fully heal and Red Robin wanted to punish him for that every time he saw that twisted clown's face.  
     Red Robin landed on the edge of a rooftop and looked around. The neighborhood wasn't too bad, He certainly wouldn't be allowed to patrol anywhere near as bad as Crime Alley on his own anytime soon, but there was still the chance of-  
     “Help! Help! Somebody, please, help!”  
     At the feminine cry Red Robin looked down and spotted two men backing a woman down the alley. “Hero time.” Red Robin grinned as he shot a grapple at a fire escape and dove down to knock the two men's heads together. He back flipped over them as they fell to the ground and landed in front of the woman who cowered behind him. “That evens things up a little.”  
     “Not really, bird-boy!” The woman behind him said, and Red Robin turned as she swung a huge mallet into his back. Red Robin tumbled to the ground and hit his head as he fell, everything going dark.  
***  
     Jason looked up as the curtain rustled, catching sight of Talia immediately. He was rarely disturbed during meditation, and even more rarely did Talia interrupt any moment of his training. She prowled toward him with her usual sure footed grace, tempered with the wariness she possessed only around those who had survived the pit.  
     “Did you want something?” Jason growled, tamping down on the darker impulses he felt to strike her for interrupting him.  
     “I thought you should be informed properly, instead of through a taunt from one of your instructors, that the Red Robin of Gotham has been captured by the Joker.” Talia said, coming to a stop between him and the rack of swords that lined the wall.  
     Jason noted her position peripherally as his vision clouded with red. His hands clenched into fists and he was on his feet before he registered Talia's own shift to a defensive stance. “He let the Joker take another kid? How did it happen? How did that clown catch him?” Jason paced across the open floor, snapping the questions at Talia but otherwise controlling his desire to harm anyone in reach.  
     “Apparently Joker and Harley Quinn set a trap for him specifically, leaving evidence for my beloved to follow elsewhere so they might take the boy. It seems the Joker has found a hobby in plucking robin feathers.”  
     “If that kid dies because Batman didn't take out the Joker when he should have I will fucking kill him! He has to learn that what he's doing isn't solving anything! He's not protecting Gotham or anyone in it by letting that piece of garbage live even another day! I have to make him see that his way is only making Gotham worse, I have to make him kill the Joker!” Jason stopped suddenly on the tail end of his outburst as he chased the beginnings of a plan.  
     He turned his gaze back to Talia who hadn't moved since he had first stood. “I have to make Batman kill the Joker.” Talia watched him for another moment before easing out of her defensive posture.  
     “That won't be easy to accomplish.” Was all she said.  
     “But you aren't opposed to the idea?” Jason asked.  
     “The Joker is a blight, one my beloved would do well to remove. How would you propose to accomplish this?”  
     “Keep everyone's attention, keep everyone busy, even the criminals. Draw out Joker while I have Batman's attention. I need to learn more. You know who can teach me what I need to know to play a criminal underworld like puppets?” Jason asked with only a hint of a green glint in his eyes.  
     “I can show you the path Jason, but walking it to the end, that you must do alone. Are you sure this is the way you choose?”  
     “Absolutely. I'll do whatever it takes to prove Batman wrong, and to kill the Joker.” With his decision made Jason returned to his meditation while Talia left the room.  
***  
     “Happy birthday Todd.” The voice of a demon interrupted Jason as he packed the last of his few belongings for his trip.  
     “Is that today? How old am I anyway?” Jason asked, turning to the boy in the doorway.  
     “Tt. You are fifteen today. Though if you will not even bother to remember the occasion I do not see why you insist on giving me a gift every year for my own birthday.” The boy stepped further into the room and flung a large knife at him.  
     Jason caught the knife, careful of the serrated edge and inspected it. “Where did you get this Damian?”  
     “I requested that mother help me find a weapon suitable for your mission. I am sure that you will fail without that knife.” Damian crossed the room as he spoke.  
     “Thanks for the vote of confidence, demon spawn.” Jason tucked the knife in with his clothes and turned back to face the boy who looked up at him with an expression that Jason liked to believe was brotherly. Of course they were brothers, though only by adoption, Damian just didn't know that. Talia had insisted that Jason say nothing to Damian about his father lest it undermine her and her father's plans for the boy, and with his own anger at Bruce and how indebted he was to Talia and Ra's he wasn't about to risk their anger. “I'll send you something dangerous from wherever I end up around your next birthday, seven right?”  
     “Eight.” Damian said with a deep scowl that mirrored another that Jason had received much too often when he was younger.  
     Jason barked out a laugh and dragged the kid in for a hug. On most days he would be risking being gutted but the first year Jason had been with the League he'd managed to train the then five year old Damian to expect birthday hugs. It was probably the only normal touch the kid ever got, Jason was sure he had never seen Talia hug her son.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The scene of Tim getting set up and kidnapped by Harley is exactly what happened to Tim in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, which is the only reason for the Batman Beyond tag, so I didn't know if I should use that tag or not, so I did.  
> The knife Damian gives Jason is supposed to be the knife Jason cut Batman's line with in the Under the Red Hood movie, I thought that would be a neat detail.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So like I said last chapter, this was supposed to be all one story without chapters so the breaks between chapters are odd (well I think they are anyway) and also there isn't really any contact with other non Bat/Gotham characters so basically if the Teen Titans exists no Robins have ever been on the team or anything...I don't know I just didn't really ever think of adding non Bat characters to the story so if they exist in this universe they don't deal with Gotham I guess... just in case anyone wondered, assuming I didn't make it more confusing than less... :)

     The replacement was on patrol alone. These days he usually ran with Batgirl but the bats were scrambling to make sense of what was happening in the Gotham underworld and Red Hood knew that Batgirl was reporting to Commissioner Gordon on why a drug bust had turned up a house full of long dead bodies and no product. She was probably saying as much as she could say about what little the Bat's knew about Gotham's 'new player'. They didn't even have his name yet. With Batman on the other side of Gotham catching the punks he'd sent out as a distraction this was the perfect opportunity to take 'Red Robin' out the game.  
      Red Hood lept from his own rooftop and slid in behind Replacement as he continued his patrol, _did he even notice that he was being followed?_ The kid's suit wasn't hard to follow, not for him. It was red, like his name suggested, and that was one of only two colors Red Hood could see. The color was the reason for his own name and identity choice, His soulmate was somewhere here in Gotham, not that he had any hope of finding him again, not now that they had already revealed their color. It would take more than eye contact to make a second connection, not that it mattered much, his soulmate was probably better off without a back from the dead assassin with a demon in his head.  
      Red Hood shook off thoughts about his soulmate, they had been occurring to him with increasing frequency ever since his return to Gotham but he didn't have time for that now. He had to get Replacement off the streets, he wasn't going to be putting some stupid kid's life in danger with his mission, not like Batman was. He kept to the shadows observing the flash of red ahead of him. It stood out easily in his vision against the black and white of nearly all the rest of Gotham's rooftops.  
Speeding up Hood took a leap faster than Robin did and came down just a step behind him. He kicked out a foot into the replacement's ankle and darted to the side as Robin turned the fall into a flip, drawing and throwing a birdarang through the space Hood had only just vacated. Now to the right of Robin however Hood moved in and snapped a kick up at Robin's chest, driving him back towards a wall. He didn't give Robin a moment to launch an attack of his own, though the replacement was able to dodge away from the enclosed spaces Red Hood drove him towards repeatedly. Hood could admit that he fought well enough for a sidekick, but the kid shouldn't be let out on patrol alone. He had too many openings, and not enough strength behind his strikes. If they were more accurate they wouldn't need any more power to be damaging but they weren't.  
      Finally a good feint was enough to let Hood get a solid hold on Robin's left arm and a quick application of Lazarus Pit enhanced strength was enough to snap the bone. Robin screamed in shock at the sudden damage and Hood released the arm.  
      “You're not cut out for this line of work kid, you're not good enough to wear that suit, going to get yourself killed. Hell I just did you a favor. You should re-evaluate your life choices while that heals.” Hood backed off as the replacement pulled another birdarang and held it out defensively. “Who knows, you may just thank me for this one day!” Red Hood shouted as he lept from the roof.  
***  
      “You're going to have to make a choice-” Red Hood cut off as behind Batman Red Robin darted in through the window. Even with the cast on his arm he was agile enough to slip past Batman.  
      He sprang on Red Hood but instead of a fist smashing Hood's jaw Robin's lips crashed down on his own. He was so startled that for a moment he didn't understand why Robin was kissing him, but then he saw it, the bright edges on Robin's costume. A new color, one he had never seen before this moment. His soulmate, the boy that used to follow them everywhere with his camera, was the replacement. Hood stepped back, crashing into the counter behind him and sliding to the floor, one arm wrapped around Robin's waist and pulling him down on top of him.  
      “Awe isn't that sweet? Two little lovebirds.” Joker mocked from the floor.  
      “Shut up!” Red Robin shouted, twisting his face away from Red Hood's lips. Suddenly he drew the gun from the back of Hood's belt and pulled the trigger in Joker's face. A second later a batarang knocked the gun from his hand but the Joker crumpled into a spreading pool of blood.  
      Hood raised his other gun and aimed over Robin's shoulder at Batman while Robin pulled his newly bleeding hand in closer. Robin was breathing hard, and shaking but he curled into Hood's chest and cried, “I've wanted to do that ever since he killed you.”  
      “It's okay kid, you're alright.” Hood said, tightening his arm around Robin and pulling him as close as he could, without lowering his gun or letting Batman out of his sight. His mind was racing. _Joker was dead, but Batman was supposed to kill him. His soulmate was here, but his soulmate had just killed someone. His soulmate had just killed the Joker for him, but Batman had attacked his soulmate._ He could feel the pit's influence fighting to take control, he couldn't let it. He had to be in control right now or they weren't getting out of this, not with the contingency plan he had in place already counting down.  
      “You're alive!” Robin sobbed into his shoulder, fingers digging for a grip in Hood's armor.  
      “Yeah, I'm alive, but not for much longer if we don't move. I rigged this place with explosives.” Hood chuckled, quirking a smile over his soulmate's shoulder at Batman.  
      Batman stepped forward reaching for Robin but Hood followed the movement with his gun. “Back off Batman, Red stays with me.”  
      “You broke his arm.” Batman growled.  
      “Didn't know it was him, you didn't adopt this one.”  
      “Stop. Let's go Hood, let's all go.” Robin said, drawing back from him to look him in the eye. The movement shifted Hood's arm up and away from Batman, who sprang forward and yanked Robin away from Hood by his cape. Robin let out a startled squeak as he was dragged away and out of the window and Hood jerked into motion, tucking the gun away and following them through the window himself.  
***  
      They stood from the rubble of the condemned building that had just come down on opposing sides, Red Robin standing between Batman and Red Hood. He knew they both wanted a fight, but a building had just come down at their feet, they needed to get out of here before the fire department and the police arrived.  
      He knew Batman wasn't likely to listen to him, but he had hoped his soulmate would. He'd come all this way, rushed into his suit with only half his arsenal and with one sleeve torn off to fit around the cast just to get here before either Bruce or Jason did something that couldn't be taken back. He'd had to hack into the bat-computer, Batman had insisted that he not only not go out as Red Robin but that he wasn't allowed in the cave at all until the Red Hood had been dealt with. He had given the same order to Nightwing after his leg was injured in the train station but with how suspiciously he had been acting he, Batgirl and Nightwing had all decided that they would be needed tonight whether Batman wanted their help or not. He had intended to remain in the cave, using the computer to keep track of everything and find out what Batman had already put together while sending Batgirl and Nightwing to back Batman, but when he had pulled up everything from the Red Hood's file he had seen the results of the blood test. Red Hood and Jason Todd were a match, which meant that Batman knew that his soulmate was _alive_ and had deliberately kept that knowledge from him.  
      Whatever Batman had been planning to do it couldn't have ended well, not if he was keeping it a secret, and Red Robin just couldn't let his soulmate get hurt. No matter how many horrible things he had done since he came back to Gotham. So Red Robin had ignored Batgirl and Nightwing asking him for updates and Batman's location and had thrown on his suit to do whatever he could to help his soulmate. He hadn't expected to kill the Joker but just from what he had seen and heard as he had arrived he had pieced together Red Hood's plan, and he knew that Batman wouldn't kill the Joker, no matter what argument Jason had for him. It wouldn't happen, and Robin had to find a different outcome besides Batman saving Joker possibly at the expense of Jason himself. It had been reflex, he knew Hood had another gun and he knew that it would be so unexpected that Batman wouldn't react fast enough to stop him, so he had done it. For Jason. He felt sick, he had never _really_ wanted to kill someone, no matter how much he had always thought he wanted to kill the Joker for taking Jason away from him, but he hadn't seen any other way. He just wanted to curl up in a corner or throw up but he didn't have that option, not with Batman and Red Hood squaring off to go another round.  
      Despite his protests they lept at each other, ducking around him easily to get at one another and Red Robin had to step back out of their way. He crouched down on a piece of the rubble to catch his breath as he calculated how long it would be until the sirens he heard would arrive on the scene. Not much longer. In fact commissioner Gordon's unmarked car was pulling up now.  
      Robin sprang back into motion as Gordon got out of his car. He tried again to get between the two but Batman yanked his cape and flung him away. He stumbled, falling to his knees and face to face with Gordon, so he had a clear view of the man's shocked expression when Red Hood shouted “Don't touch my soulmate!” His gun went off again and Robin saw Batman dodge out of the corner of his eye before Red Hood was grabbing his arm and dragging him up. “Unless you have a grapple we're running, all I've got left is a gun and a knife.”  
      “I do, but I can't use it well with this arm.” Robin answered as Hood pulled him past Gordon who had drawn his own weapon but clearly wasn't sure if the man, who wasn't even wearing any red after having lost his helmet, needed to be taken down.  
***  
      “What's going on down there?” Nightwing asked her over the coms. He was farther from the construction site than Batgirl because his leg was still too sore to be comfortable while leaping rooftops and it had slowed him down.  
      “Batman's fighting someone, I assume it's Red Hood but the hood's gone, he's wearing a mask like you Robins wear. Red Robin's here too, but he's hanging back, I'll see if he knows what's going on.” Batgirl reported as she landed on a girder. She jumped across a gap and landed next to Red Robin a moment later and he looked around at her warily. “Robin what's going on? You were supposed to fill us in once you got to the computer. Is that Red Hood? Nightwing and I can help Batman take him down.”  
      “NO! You shouldn't be here at all Batgirl. They shouldn't even be fighting but I can't get them to stop!”  
      Batgirl took a closer look at Robin. He was shaking, crouched down and holding the girder beside him for support like he might actually lose his balance. “I think we should get you out of here Robin.” She switched her earpiece back on. “Nightwing we need to get Robin out of here, he's not doing so well.”  
      “No!” Robin shouted, pushing past her suddenly and leaping down a level after Batman and Red Hood.  
      Batgirl jumped after him when she saw him trying to get between the two larger combatants and she missed whatever Nightwing was saying in her ear as Red Hood pulled Robin behind him and fired his gun at Batman just a few feet away. He turned his gun on her as she landed in front of Batman and she froze, but it seemed that was the opening Red Hood had hoped for. He lept backwards, dragging Robin with him and it took Batman too much time getting around her to continue the fight. Red Hood was getting away and for some reason Robin was running with him.  
      Nightwing landed beside her as she watched Batman tailing the Reds. “What just happened?”  
      “I don't know, Robin seemed to be trying to stop them from fighting. It looked like he was siding with Red Hood but he seemed sick when I first saw him, so I don't know why he's even out here.”  
      “Batgirl circle around and take the left side, I've lost Red Hood's trail.” Batman's voice said in her earpiece.  
      “Okay Batman, and Nightwing's here too.” Batgirl said starting off.  
      “You going to fill us in Batman?” Nightwing asked when the coms went silent.  
***  
      Red Robin followed Red Hood into the apartment as soon as the trap was disabled. He stumbled and when Hood tried to catch him they both ended up tumbling to the floor. Jason pulled him in tight against his chest, one hand coming up to rub his back under the cape.  
      “You alright there Red?”  
      Robin sniffed. He couldn't help it, bursting into tears and burying his face in Jason's throat. “I killed him.” Robin sobbed.  
      After a minute Red Hood answered him.“Yeah you did. You shouldn't have done that, kid.”  
      “You shouldn't have either.” Robin stammered.  
      “Batman was supposed to do it!” Hood snapped, but held him tighter when he flinched away at the anger in his tone. “Keeping that madman alive wasn't doing anyone any good. I just wanted Batman to see, to admit, that his way doesn't work. He killed me and even that wasn't enough proof that Joker wasn't ever going to change. It should have been. My death should have been the last death at Joker's hands. Batman should have made sure of it. He damn sure should have never let that madman get his hands on you.”  
      “Me?” Robin pulled away so he could see Hood's face.  
      “I heard about it. The new kid getting snatched, _targeted_ , by the Joker. It was the last straw. Letting him live, letting another kid put his life in danger, _and then letting that kid get caught by the same bastard that killed his last Robin?_ I couldn't let it go on like that. No matter what I had to do, I had to make Batman see that he isn't doing this right.”  
      Robin gasped. He felt light headed. He didn't know what to think of Hood's explanation. If only his plan hadn't involved killing anyone he probably would have been right. Even now he was terrified when he remembered his time as Joker's prisoner. It had all been a game to the clown, playing house with Harley and pretending he was their son. He'd had to wear a suit that matched Joker's, makeup to make his skin paler, dye in his hair. They'd tortured him. Three weeks, it had felt like so much longer, before Batman and Batgirl had found them in the old Arkham Asylum. Even with it three years behind him now it was still terrifying. He hid his face in Hood's throat again.  
      “It's alright Red. Let's get you out of that suit, I've got sweats that should fit you.” Hood said, rolling them over so he could lift them both back to their feet.  
***  
      Nightwing searched his quadrant of the city slowly. Whatever Red Hood was using to jam the signal from Red Robin's suit was working damn well. None of their scanners had picked up a single blip of direction on where Red Robin might be. Scratch that, his scanner just beeped. Nightwing skidded to a halt and crossed back to the point on the rooftop he now occupied where the signal had come through. He could see the direction now, and he really should call it in to Batman, but the man was being even more stubborn about sharing information then Nightwing had ever seen before. Whatever was happening with Red Hood and Batman and Red Robin right now he didn't think he would be getting any answers if Batman took over the search now.  
      So Nightwing followed the signal, at an even slower pace than he had already needed to take to keep the strain off his leg, and found the origin. A crumbling old tenement in Crime Alley that looked like it had been abandoned even by the gangs. Nightwing put away the scanner and searched the outside of the building for the telltale signs of where someone with a capes experience would have entered the building.  
      Nightwing found the trap on the window and took twice his usual time to disable an unfamiliar trap, double and triple checking that he had it right. Red Hood seemed like the type to leave deadly traps, even just for a safehouse window. He slipped inside and crouched below the window, scanning the room. The apartment was dark, and mostly empty. There was a couch but that was it for furniture, though there were a few unmarked crates along one wall.  
      Nightwing made his way to the closed door, pushing it open to reveal the bedroom, at least furnished with a bed and nightstand. The bed had two occupants, Tim was laying sprawled across another man's chest, they were both out of costume but the other man must have been Red Hood. Hood had his right arm around Tim's waist, holding him tight. Nightwing approached the bed carefully, reaching out to shake Tim awake without alerting Red Hood. As he leaned over suddenly Hood's left arm snapped up, drawing a gun from beneath the pillow and pressing the muzzle to Nightwing's forehead.  
      “Don't touch my soulmate, Dick.” Hood whispered.  
      Nighwing stilled, watching Hood carefully. That voice was familiar, and the glare in his eyes too. There was a white streak in his hair over his right eye, but otherwise he had black hair, or really dark hair since Nightwing couldn't see in color yet. Even so the man seemed like someone he should recognize, and he knew Nightwing's name was Dick.  
      “Back off, tell the Bat he's not welcome here and you can take the couch. Tim needs the sleep, so I won't start a fight as long as you keep the Bat away from here.” Hood said, pulling the gun up away from Nightwing.  
      Nightwing watched Hood for another minute, trying to think of a way to get Tim away from him before Hood could shoot him, but he couldn't risk it in the end. He backed away and stepped back out of the bedroom, closing the door to a crack and pacing back to the window. He raised a hand to his earpiece and hit the button.  
      “Batman I'm at Hood's safehouse and Robin's fine, Hood hasn't hurt him.”  
      “Give me the address, I'm on my way.”  
      “No, Hood's promised Robin's safety, and I'm staying to keep an eye on them too. You need to stay away for now, Hood doesn't want you here.”  
      “Of course he doesn't, he's a criminal, we need to get Robin away from him.”  
      “B, Hood said they were soulmates, he's not going to hurt Robin. I'll stay here anyway but you need to either back off or tell me why the hell you can't.”  
      “Red Hood is Jason Todd.” Batman growled.  
      Nightwing's knees gave out and he was lucky the couch was behind him. _Jason Todd? His little brother? He was the monster that had been terrorizing Gotham for these last few weeks? No wonder he wanted Joker dead, but why had he gone after Batman?_ It didn't make sense, there was something else he was missing, or he was just exhausted. Either way if Jason didn't want Batman here, if he knew it would lead to a fight and he was trying to avoid that, for Tim's sake even then Nightwing knew he was going to help his little brothers.  
      “B, if that's true than it just makes it even clearer to me that you need to back off. You've never been able to solve anything with Jason without a fight, and he's just trying to get some sleep. I swear I'll keep an eye on him but if you want this solved any other way than with fists you need to clear your head and give Jason time. You know that, please B, let this rest for the night.” Dick knew it would be damn near impossible for Bruce to leave a task, especially a potentially dangerous one, to anyone but himself but he had to hope that Bruce's care for his family was strong enough to let him trust Dick with this.  
      There was a pause after he spoke before Batman answered him. “You report in immediately tomorrow, with the address. Red Hood's crime wave ends tonight.”  
***  
      He could hear Nightwing in the other room, talking. The one sided conversation meant that it was through an earpiece. Obviously reporting in to the Bat. Jason wondered if he would have an enraged Batman charging in at him at any moment or if Dick could, or would, actually cover for him. Maybe he would do it for Tim, assuming Dick actually believed Tim was safe with him. Yeah, he wasn't going to be falling asleep any time soon.  
      His arm tightened around Tim's waist possessively at the thought of any of the Bats barging in and taking Tim away from him. Still asleep, Tim made an uncomfortable squeaking sound at the tighter hold and Jason forced himself to relax before Tim woke up. He really did need the rest.  
      Jason was not looking forward to tomorrow, there wasn't really any way to get out of having a talk with Batman, because there was no way Jason was letting go of his soulmate. After coming back from the dead he had figured that there was no way to even find his soulmate. He had thrown himself into his plan to make Bruce admit that he was bringing more danger to Gotham and his partners than he was protecting them from and he had decided to clean up Gotham for real. Before he had died though, before he had even been Robin he had known that he would protect his soulmate from the world if he had to. He had known that he wanted to be with his soulmate and no one else. At the time it hadn't really mattered who his soulmate was, he had idealized, romanticized it. His soulmate would be his perfect other half, of course he would love them completely and do anything for them, _who else was there?_ _Who else would ever matter that much to him?_ Even when he was ten years old he had been sure that he would throw his life away for his soulmate if he had to. Living on the streets of Crime Alley he had wondered if he would find his soulmate in some other starving kid and have to protect them from gangs and all the rest of the scum in Gotham. He had always worried about it, when he was cold and hungry, _how was he going to keep his soulmate alive when he was barely managing to feed himself?_ He had never really thought about what if his soulmate was better off than he was, he had always just sort of assumed he would be, well, 'the provider'. Looking back now that seemed pretty stupid. He didn't know who 'Tim Drake' really was yet, but being Batman's sidekick he probably already had anything he needed, and he probably didn't want a drug lord who was fighting his boss to start some sort of war over him or something. Jason idly wondered just who could have been a more complicated match for him, soulmate wise, because this was not looking like an easy road.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay... so this chapter was supposed to be twice as long and finish the story but I cannot figure out how to transition from the end of this chapter to the next scene I'm trying to write, or how to move from that to the next series of events after that, or how to resolve the plot therein, and the whole story seems to have meandered away from Jay/Tim being soulmates into a 'bringing the Bat-family together' story so I'm trying to figure out how to have an ending that's back to being just about Jay/Tim, so this is going to take awhile to figure out which is why I was waiting to post this chapter but it's been two weeks, so I'll just post what I have so far and take some time now to finish it after that, so I don't know when the next/last post will be. Serves me right for trying to motivate myself to finish writing by posting it and therefore giving myself a deadline... grr.

     Dick woke up to a dimly lit apartment. It was unfamiliar but he remembered enough of last night not to panic. Turning his head he could see a figure moving around in a kitchen area across the apartment. He stood and made his way over, stopping in the doorway. Red Hood was at the stove, cooking, like he was a normal person.  
      “Jason? You're really...Jason?”  
      Jason smirked over the pan of eggs he was cooking.  
      “How?”  
      “Ra's got me killed, he figured he owed me a favor.” And if that answer didn't open the door to a whole other disaster in the making. _Ra's_. That meant the Lazarus Pit, and even with all Batman's research they had no idea just what the pit was capable of or how deeply it affected those who used it. No wonder this wasn't the Little Wing he remembered.  
      Jason scooped the eggs onto a plate and set it on the table closest to Dick. “Eat, I don't stock cereal.” He started cracking more eggs into the pan.  
      “Where's Tim?  
      “Still sleeping, he needs it. He was sick last night, and he didn't do that arm any favors.”  
      “You broke it. How can you sympathize now?” Nightwing accused, recalling the devastating details Tim had shared with all of them about Red Hood's surprise attack against him.  
      Jason threw his head back with a sigh, before going back to the eggs. “I didn't know Red Robin was my soulmate then, I didn't even know his name until last night. Bruce didn't adopt him, how was I supposed to know who he was?”  
      “You didn't know your soulmate's name?”  
      “I saw him _once_ , for about five seconds, three days before we went after Joker in Europe and three weeks before I died. I didn't think I'd ever find him again, since I was already seeing red, it takes more than a look the second time and I don't-” Jason sighed again. “I just figured I was probably going to die last night. Either Batman killed Joker like I wanted, he killed me to _save Joker_ , or I killed us all.”  
      “Why the hell would you plan that Jason?” Nightwing asked past the constricting feeling in his chest.  
      Jason scooped the eggs onto another plate and settled at the table across from him. “You're not eating Dick. I didn't poison them.” Jason said, taking a piece of egg from Dick's plate and eating it.  
      “Jason _why?_ ” Dick asked again, ignoring the food for now.  
      Another sigh. Jason took a bite of his own breakfast before speaking. “In Sarajevo, Harley knocked me out. Joker was standing in front of me when I woke up, but the first thing I saw in that moment” Jason looked up at Dick “was purple.”  
      Dick rocked back in his chair. If he got the color red from Tim, then seeing another color, from someone else... _A mortal enemy_? Sure he'd heard of other heroes who had them but... but that made sense of a lot of this. Even explained why Joker actually took it far enough to kill Jason, whether he saw Jason as a mortal enemy or not if fate chose made Joker as Jason's mortal enemy then dying at his hands made sense, not that Jason being murdered like that had made any sense at all.  
      “Little Wing...”  
      “Just eat your damn eggs Dick. It's done now, Joker's dead.”  
      He didn't know what to say, so he ate the damn eggs.  
***  
      Tim stumbled out of the bedroom when Dick was halfway through the plate of eggs. Jason steered him towards his seat at the table, moving his plate back to the counter and cracking more eggs into the pan. While they cooked he brought Tim a glass of water. It was surprisingly attentive, and Dick was still getting over just how good the eggs tasted. Jason could cook. It was like breakfast with Alfred. It was hard to reconcile the violent drug lord that had taken over Gotham with the Jason he was seeing now.  
      Dick caught Tim watching him as he finished eating. “You're going to love these eggs Baby Bird. I had no idea he could cook.”  
      Tim looked down with a tiny smile. It was always so hard to get Tim to look happy, even when he was he had a hard time expressing it. He didn't want to ruin the mood but he didn't have a lot of choice. “So Batman said I needed to report in first thing in the morning. He wanted this address, figure he's planning to drop by whether I call or not.”  
      Jason looked around at him and Tim lost the smile as his head snapped up. They were both quiet for a moment and then Jason brought Tim his breakfast.  
      “Any idea how he's going to play it?”  
      Dick shook his head. “He's furious. About as mad as any of your arguments.” Dick tried for a joke but his brothers both looked a bit ill. “I told him to cool off and try to come at this with a clear head, but you need to stay calm too Little Wing. I don't know everything that went down last night but you're his son. If you don't want to keep fighting then we can find a way to work this out.”  
      “I don't give a damn about B,” and Dick knew that wasn't true, “but whatever Tim needs me to do I will.” Jason placed his hands on Tim's shoulders as he spoke.  
      Dick studied Tim, he looked just about as down as Dick had ever seen him and he couldn't figure it out. They were soulmates, they had found each other again, yeah last night was bad but they should be happier. _Tim_ should be happier, and yet he was looking beaten down while Jason looked uncharacteristically content.  
      “I shot Joker. I killed him.” Tim whispered.  
      Jason squeezed his shoulders for comfort but Dick just stared at them. Tim _killed the Joker? After all of Jason's plans_ Tim _had done it? Tim wouldn't even consider killing another living being, just,_ how?  
      Tim answered his silent questions. “It wasn't going to go the way Jason wanted it to. Someone was going to die last night no matter what, and the only death I could live with was Jokers.”  
      That...made sense, in the mind of Tim. Every bit except the part where Tim _actually_ killed someone. Dick just couldn't reconcile it. Sweet, kind, caring Tim taking a life. Any life. Dick felt devastated just hearing about it, _the way Tim must feel right now?_ No wonder Jason had just wanted to get him out of there last night. Dick knew he had a long day ahead of him. He was going to need Barbara's help if he was going to get his little brothers out of trouble.  
***  
      Barbara slammed a hand down on the empty bedside table in her search for an alarm clock but the noise that had woken her continued unabated. Rolling over with a groan at the soreness in her back she tossed the covers aside and squinted around the room for the offending sound. She stumbled up and across the room to the heap she had left her clothes in earlier that morning when she had come up from the Bat-cave. Digging open her purse she snapped open the cell phone and squinted at the name on the screen.  
      “What time is it where you're calling from Dick?” She snapped, trying to keep her eyes open now that the annoying ringtone that had awoken her was silenced.  
      “Seven Twenty, sorry I thought you'd be up by now. After everything that happened last night-”  
      Barbara cut him off, on two hours of sleep she wasn't in the mood for manners. “Which is exactly why I was still asleep, Bruce said he wouldn't leave the cave till you reported back to him. He still wouldn't tell me what all this is about.”  
      “Actually I was calling because I was hoping you could calm Bruce down a bit, or at least distract him, because I'd rather we all sat down and talked this out rather than restarting last night's fight. Barbara, the Red Hood is Jason Todd, he's alive, and he and Tim are soulmates.”  
      In an instant Barbara was fully awake and retracing what little she knew of Batman's investigation so far. All along Batman had kept the rest of them at arms length since the Red Hood had appeared, keeping every detail he could to himself and they had all noticed the mood Bruce was in without knowing why.  
     “Alright I'll see what I can do to keep Bruce at the manor, but he won't keep still long, you need to sort out what needs sorting fast and get over here Dick.” Barbara agreed, knowing that Dick was asking for more time for his younger brother and the boy who may as well have been.  
      Hanging up the phone Barbara sighed and got dressed, trudging back down to the Bat-cave without even stopping for coffee. Bruce was still at the computer when she arrived. “Bruce you should really get some sleep, Alfred or I can let you know when Dick calls-”  
      “He already called you, you're stalling me for time.” Bruce interrupted, standing from the computer and making for the Batmobile.  
     “You bugged my phone?” Barbara started, outraged, but gave up on the idea of arguing knowing that it wouldn't faze the Batman. “You can't just go barging in on them, Dick will bring them here to talk to us, can't you give Tim an hour or two with his soulmate before you drag them apart? I may not know what you're planning but if you care about them, if they are your family, then treat them as such. Trust them, give them a chance Bruce. Clear your head, get some rest and face this situation like an adult. Tim's still a kid and who knows what Jason has been through in the past few years, they need you to trust them so that they can trust you.”  
     All through Barbara's rant Bruce stood next to the Batmobile with his back to her. She didn't know what part of what she said, if any of it, got through to him and she probably wouldn't have seen any indication of understanding even if Bruce had been facing her without a mask. Something did convince him though, and Barbara watched him silently stripping out of the Batsuit and heading for the showers. She sat down at the Batcomputer to wait and make sure he went up to the manor, groggily scanning through a few of the crime reports that the Bats hadn't been able to look into during the reign of the Red Hood. She barely noticed what she was reading though, and planned to go back to sleep herself as soon as she spoke to Alfred and made sure he could keep an eye out for Bruce trying to sneak out before the boys came home.  
***  
     The manor was just as he remembered it. Jason looked around the entrance hall and saw not a speck of dust, Alfred hadn't lost his touch. He dragged Tim along and followed Dick up to Bruce's office. The kid was still pretty shaken after everything that had happened last night. Jason sure as hell wasn't looking forward to whatever argument he was about to have with Bruce but Tim just seemed out of it.  
      Dick barged right into the office, taking over everyone's attention like he usually did. Bruce looked up from his desk and Barbara and Alfred looked around at them as they all came in. “So are we ready to talk this out like a family?” Dick asked the silent room.  
      Jason had no idea what Dick, or more likely Barbara, had said to Bruce to move this 'conversation' from Batman in the Bat-cave threatening the Red Hood to Bruce Wayne talking to his son in his office but he appreciated it. He stood a chance at winning an argument against Bruce, it was Batman who always got the last word.  
      “Are you really Jason?” Barbara asked before Bruce could start anything.  
      Jason snorted. “What I don't look like me anymore? Dick didn't recognize me either, you're starting to hurt my feelings.” He said it with a grin that didn't erase the hurt in his chest.  
      “Yes, he is Jason, the blood test already confirmed that. He is also the Red Hood, a criminal that needs to be stopped. The number of people he has killed doesn't go away just because he used to live here or because he's Tim's soulmate. None of that changes the fact that he is a murderer.” Bruce barked from the desk.  
      “Bruce, Ra's brought him back with the Lazarus Pit, we don't know what effect that might have-” Dick started to say but was interrupted by Jason.  
      “I knew exactly what I was doing Dick. I spent three years planning this. It wasn't a spur of the moment idea from a madman, I trained for this specifically. The pit's influence on my mind doesn't mean I'm not responsible for my own actions and has nothing to do with my belief that some people deserve to die. I've never agreed with Batman on that and I never will.”  
      “It's worth at least mentioning that there are a lot of anti-heroes who kill, I don't approve but-” Barbara tried to circumvent an argument but Bruce wouldn't allow it.  
      “Not in my city they don't. No killing, I trained you to understand that.”  
      “And the League of Assassins trained me out of that. Not that they had very far to go, I killed two of them the minute I crawled out of the pit.” Jason argued, fighting down the anger that clouded his vision with red. Tim made a sound as Jason's hand clenched on his shoulder, where it still rested from leading Tim through the manor. With difficulty Jason pried his fingers from his soulmate's shoulder and stepped around the furniture to a clear space of floor. The meditation techniques the League had taught him to calm and control the pit's influence came to mind easily and he blocked out the presence of the people around him to focus on the rage inside him.  
      He didn't know how long he sat there but when he refocused on the world outside his mind everyone had taken a seat and was watching him. “Enjoying the show?”  
      “It's been three hours, what happened Little Wing?”  
      “Had to beat the crap out of the demon in my head. Since we were having an almost civil conversation and all.”  
      Tim, who was in the chair nearest him, slid to the floor next to him. “Are you okay now?”  
      “Fine.” He growled bitterly.  
      “Well I for one am just glad that Master Jason is alive.” Alfred said with a smile that made Jason's heart hurt. Alfred was probably the only one here that he would be comfortable talking about the pit with. Maybe Tim, but just because they were soulmates didn't mean he wouldn't freak out and Jason didn't really know anything about the photographer turned Robin. There had been his surveillance but that had all been on Red Robin's fighting skill and ability. He didn't know anything about Tim personally, not enough to predict his reactions to some of the worst moments of his life.  
     “Well I for one” Jason started, mimicking Alfred “am thinking that I need to re-evaluate my expectations of the future. My whole 'master plan' did just get thwarted and all, I didn't really have anything planned for after last night so I should probably start brainstorming some new life goals.” Jason tugged Tim's hand until he sprawled in Jason's lap. “Anyway, I kind of like this kid so I should probably come up with a plan that doesn't involve making him arrest me.”  
     Tim pulled himself up into a more dignified position with an exasperated glare at Jason. “If you're planning on arresting Jason you'll have to arrest me too. I'm the one who killed Joker.” He said, meeting Bruce's eyes even though he was clearly still dazed by last night's events.  
     “Well if he's willing to do that I just may have to kidnap you first.” Jason pulled Tim back against his chest possessively.  
     Barbara glanced from them to Bruce who's expression had closed off from his earlier anger to that unreadable look he got when he was thinking through all the angles of a situation before coming to a decision. Dick just kept staring at Jason and Tim, fighting down a smile Jason knew by the way one corner of his mouth kept twitching. At least Dick could read that this was not a situation for smiles, at all, it would probably make Bruce more angry somehow if all his kids were happy about this 'meeting with the deranged murderer we've been trying to catch for weeks'.  
     “I wasn't planning on arresting Tim.” Bruce said at last, as if that answered everything.  
     There was silence for a while, as no one was able to find a way to follow up that statement. There was a bit of glancing around at each other to determine who might have something to say but it was clear that Bruce couldn't move past Jason being an unrepentant killer and therefore there was no way to resolve the necessity of arresting him with the hypocrisy of keeping Tim free.  
     “Well, I guess it's time for me to get the hell outta Dodge then.” Jason said to break the silence.  
     “Nonsense Master Jason, you have only just returned, I have already put together a room for you and this most certainly calls for a celebration dinner.” Alfred really should be acknowledged as the master of the house. Being employed by Bruce was a technicality continuously overlooked as Alfred got his way more often than not. Barbara grinned, Bruce glared, and Jason just stared at Alfred.  
     “We're a family Little Wing, just because we don't agree on everything doesn't mean we don't care about each other.” Dick let his smile pull through at last.  
     Jason sighed over Tim's head, ruffling his hair. This wasn't what he wanted, or it hadn't been, he really didn't know anymore. There hadn't been much time at all to think since last night, and the only thing Jason knew for sure was that he wanted to be with his soulmate. He didn't know if it would work out, if that was even possible, but he didn't want to let go of Tim. So as long as Bruce didn't leap over the table at him with a pair of handcuffs to drag him off to jail he could stay for dinner. There was something else though. Something that while not redeeming in any way would be enough of a good deed, and shocking revelation to distract Bruce from hauling him strait to the GCPD.  
      Jason turned and locked eyes with Bruce. “Yeah, well about that family, I should probably tell you about your son.” Jason added to the silence: “Yours and Talia's.” That information went over about as well as anything else he'd had to say today. Tim had twitched violently in his arms, twisting to see his face. Dick was gaping at him for once completely lost for words. The fury in Bruce's eyes was making its way towards the true kind of rage that Jason only felt when he lost control of the pit in him, and Barbara and Alfred looked stricken. They all focused on him, waiting for more of an explanation.  
     “Damian al Ghul, heir to the demon, Ibn al Xu'ffasch. He's being trained as an assassin, has been his whole life I think.”  
     “What makes you think he's my son?” Bruce ground out, fists clenched on the desk in front of him.  
      “Well other than Talia and Ra's both saying so, he's definitely got your glare. It was damn creepy sometimes, seeing you lecturing me through some six year old kid.”  
      “If he's only six-”  
      “He's ten, eleven pretty soon. I never do remember the exact day, they don't exactly make a big deal over it. Talia was furious the first time I gave him a birthday gift. Which was ridiculous, It was a knife! Like he didn't already have knives? I figure they just don't want him to be too human. Any day other than a birthday and he'll gut you for trying to hug him, so he's definitely going to be the death of you, Dick.” Jason ended with a joke, not that it in any way lightened the mood. Hell, his own childhood wasn't anything like what a normal kid should have and even he could see how bad Damian had it. Well, the kid was well fed, and clothed, and his mom was lucid; but the kid didn't know that his life shouldn't be the way it was, so it was easy to feel pity despite the fact that Damian was basically, and by League standards, a pampered prince.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, before anything else, and this is important! I made a few changes to chapters 1-3, two new paragraphs for Ch. 1 that you might not notice, and minor stuff like half a sentence here and there for Ch. 2, but you probably want to go back to Ch. 3 because before Jason goes back to Wayne Manor I added almost a whole page from Barbara's perspective.  
> Alright, so I changed my mind again. having finally figured out a solution where I previously said I was stuck I decided to make those edits I just talked about, and wanting to post them right away before I forgot about them I decided to write the whole next chapter too. So despite saying I wanted to finish the whole story before posting anything else I only have half a page more than this chapter done yet and am still unsure as to how many more chapters there may be, but, and hopefully I'm not jinxing it here, I think I can get the next chapter done quickly too... it's just the next one after that that might take a while... grrr... I really should have planned this all out better to start with. Anyway, enjoy the new (unexpected) direction I went with here:

     The little brother revelation put a damper on the whole 'celebration' dinner, though Alfred did try. Batman and Batgirl had gone out on patrol as soon as dessert was over and Dick had gone to the Bat-cave to monitor Bruce, in case he was freaking out over Damian's mere existence. Alfred had shown Jason to a new room, he had known ahead of time that there was no way Jason would want to spend a night in his old bedroom, which he had been told had been kept just as he'd left it, like a damn shrine to him or something.  
     Not that he had any intention of spending the night in the new room either, as soon as he was sure Alfred had made it back downstairs Jason had snuck into Tim's room. It was practically empty, basically still a guest room since Tim didn't technically live in Wayne Manor, just a few books and a laptop on the desk. There were probably a few changes of clothes in the closet but that was all that Jason could see from a quick glance around the room.  
     Tim was sitting on his bed with his knees pulled up to his chest and his arms wrapped around them. Obviously still upset about the Joker. Jason didn't have any problem with killing the scum that didn't respect the lives of others but that didn't mean he wanted everyone in the world who saw a crime to kill the criminals themselves, and Tim seemed surprisingly innocent for a vigilante. Tim was sixteen and he was small enough to look even younger, and Jason just wanted to curl up around him and protect him from the world. Tim made Jason feel protective and a bit guilty for somehow putting his soulmate in the position of having to kill for him. It was a difficult contradiction, since he had wanted to make Bruce kill for him, _but dammit, Bruce was always so hard to understand!_ It sure hadn't ever seemed like the man had cared for him, not like he cared for Dick, there was just some kind of difference between Tim and Bruce and how Jason wanted them to show they cared about him.  
     With a heavy sigh to dispel his conflicting thoughts Jason crawled onto the bed and pulled Tim in close to his side. Tim relaxed and curled up against him and Jason felt more content than he had ever before in his life, so much so that he was surprised that it didn't make him uncomfortable.  
     “Were you really serious about Bruce having a son with Talia al Ghul?” Tim mumbled into his shoulder.  
      “I wouldn't lie about that. Bruce would probably beat the hell out of me if I did.” Jason answered.  
      “You left a kid, your little brother, with the League of Assassins?” Tim asked,  
      “How exactly was I, alone, supposed to kidnap the heir to Ra's al Ghul? I might be able to do it now, but back then, well you saw that I had to meditate just to stop myself from hurting you accidentally.”  
      “I didn't mean you should have tried to save him yourself, I meant you should have found a way to tell Bruce, even if you didn't want him to know you were alive you could have found a way. Bruce could have known about him and done something about it years ago.” Tim argued.  
      “I was angry Tim.” Jason growled, feeling anger creeping up inside him even now as he thought back to that time. “I couldn't think past myself. You're the only thing keeping me together as it is right now. If you hadn't kissed me I'd be trying to kill Bruce right now.”  
     Tim closed his eyes and leaned into him, and the anger left Jason. He brushed a kiss over Tim's forehead and leaned back against the numerous and ridiculously fluffy pillows on the bed, pulling Tim down with him and dragging a blanket over them both. He could tell that Tim was still exhausted from last night, from the emotional turmoil of killing Joker and still having a broken arm trying to heal the kid was going to take a few days to recover.  
***  
     Batman watched over the penthouse apartments that he had a hunch were the next target of Gotham's newest cat burglar. In the weeks that Red Hood had been restructuring the Gotham underworld Batman hadn't had time to track down every other criminal that he would have liked to, and this one had proven to only steal from the wealthy and never harm anyone during the crimes. He had put the case on hold until now but with Jason secured in the manor he and Batgirl could start rounding up the criminal's they'd let slip through the net. Batgirl was elsewhere going after some criminals whose identity's had been confirmed but Batman wanted to take care of this unknown himself just in case there were any surprises.  
      Looking down over the edge of the rooftop on which he stood Batman saw a figure clinging to the wall outside one of the windows. It seemed that the figure was able to get what it came for without ever actually entering the apartment itself. The thief began their descent from the building and Batman darted away to meet them.  
      Waiting behind the corner of the building Batman could now see that the thief was a woman, and he was also impressed that she was able to sense that she were being watched. She looked around and Batman could make out a cat clinging on to the woman's shoulders.  
     “Hm. Probably my imagination.” She said.  
      “Probably not.” Batman stepped around the corner and peripherally registered the cat's startled screeching as he locked eyes with the woman. Her suit had a mask that covered most of her face but less than his own did and it has small protrusions on top like ears, similar to his own mask, though likely to emulate a cat as she had brought one with her for the burglary. He narrowed his eyes suddenly as he realized that her mask, and much more of her suit was no longer grey as he supposed it to be, but was instead...some other color. His mind froze at the realization that this woman, this criminal must be his soulmate.  
     “Magnificent.” She said into the silence.  
     Overcoming his shock Batman knew that being soulmates in no way overcame the law. That was exactly the point he was trying to make to his partners, that just because Jason was Tim's soulmate didn't change the fact that he was a criminal, Batman knew what he had to do. “I suggest you save the flattery for the Judge.” He said as he marched toward her.  
      The woman dashed for the edge of the roof and flung herself into the open air with confidence and Batman wondered if she had perhaps not noticed the addition of color to her sight. Surely she must also see it, it couldn't only be him, _could it?_ As he chased after her she used a whip to catch herself on a flagpole and throw herself onto another rooftop.  
      “So long, Dark Knight.” She said over her shoulder.  
      “Drop in anytime.” Batman said from where he had landed at the corner of the rooftop. The cat screeched again as the woman caught sight of him.  
      She helped the cat down from her shoulder as she spoke, “You're too kind,” before dashing off again.  
      She lept the gaps between rooftops as easily as he or any of his partners could and he couldn't help but take note of her skill, agility, flexibility and strength as she moved. She kept a few paces ahead of him until she ducked down a fire escape and he was able to leap to the ground ahead of her. He easily dodged a high kick and a few swipes from her clawed gloves, clearly fighting was a skill she used only as a last resort, he could see a dozen openings in her form that he felt reluctant to take advantage of when it was clear that she only meant to distract him with the blows so as to make her escape. As he rolled away from her she hissed, sounding remarkably feline and her clawed gloves cut three tears into his cape along his right arm.  
     “Hey.” He stood as she backed towards the mouth of the alley. “I'll have to try and trim those claws.” As he approached her she kicked out the bottom of a stack of garbage cans along the side of the alley and they crashed down around him. By the time he made his way over the cans and to the mouth of the alley she was scaling the opposite building.  
     Between them the cat that she had brought with her for the burglary was racing across the street when the headlights from a semi truck lit up the road surrounding it. The cat froze in the light and Batman was able to sweep it out of danger just in time.  
     “Left you behind, did she?” He asked the cat with a sudden and fierce disappointment that his soulmate would leave her partner behind and stroking the cat's face as it trembled in his arms. Suddenly the cat batted his hand away and lept from his arms, dashing to a downspout and climbing up it to the rooftop above to where the cat burglar waited. Looking up he could see her cradle the cat in her arms and then peer down at him, blowing him a kiss before stepping back away from the edge of the roof. Perhaps she wasn't indifferent to her partner after all, that knowledge was encouraging. Batman looked back at his arm and plucked a clump of cat hair from his sleeve. “Thanks for the memento.” He said to the empty rooftop, he might be able to track the cat burglar from what breed the cat was, or from traces in it's fur of dirt that might show where it had been.  
***  
     “So, a cat burglar that uses cats to do the actual burgling, and she seemed like she was into you too.” Dick grinned as he stepped out of Bruce's path as he made his way from the Batmobile to the Batcomputer. “Do you know where to find this Catwoman next?”  
     “I have a possible clue, but we know what area she targets, it won't be difficult to catch her in the act again.”  
      “Barbara checked in half an hour ago, she rounded up everyone you sent her after, and stopped a purse snatcher. If you don't need my help I was going to head back upstairs.”  
     “Fine. Make sure Jason's still in his room.” Bruce ordered without looking up from the microscope.  
     There was still a minor pain occasionally in his leg, so Dick was careful climbing the stairs, all of the stairs. The Cave stairs, the main staircase, the stairs to the second floor, the stairs to the third floor, all of the stairs. _Why are all the bedrooms on the third floor?_  
     He knew which room Alfred had made up for Jason, Bruce had wanted Dick to watch the surveillance feeds to it while he was on patrol, but Dick had decided against it in favor of trusting Jason. He had seen the way Jason gravitated to Tim, stayed near him as often as possible, holding his arm or shoulder. It was uncharacteristic of Jason, who had always been annoyed or uncomfortable when Dick had hugged him. It seemed to Dick that Jason would stay in the manor for as long as Tim wanted him around, even if it made Jason uncomfortable to be here.  
     Of course Jason's empty room and untouched bed had Dick rethinking that. He didn't bother looking in the closet or under the bed, Jason wouldn't be acting like a child. Instead he raced down the hall to Tim's room. Remembering at the last second not to slam the door open he crept into the room. He sighed in relief finding a familiar scene. Tim was curled over Jason's side, using Jason's chest as a pillow, head tucked under Jason's chin. Jason's left arm was draped over Tim's back holding him tight and his right swept over to the bedside table and raised the knife he had obviously left laying there.  
“Are you still afraid I'm murdering him or do you always barge in when Tim is sleeping?” Jason asked, flipping the knife between his fingers.  
     “I was supposed to check on you before I could go to sleep. You weren't in your room. I'm not walking all the way back downstairs to tell Bruce where you are so if a giant Bat swoops in next it's your own fault.” Dick warned.  
     “So you're spying on me, it's not enough that I'm right here under your noses you have to watch me every second too. There were cameras in that room weren't there?” Jason asked, tensing up.  
     “I wasn't watching you through any cameras Little Wing.” Dick kept to himself the fact that he _had_ been instructed to watch Jason through those cameras. Grinning at the cute little birds he had a sudden inspiration. “Hmmm... maybe I can get you out of trouble though.” Dick climbed up onto Tim's bed, plucking the knife from Jason's grip and replacing it on the nightstand before pulling the blanket away from Jason.  
     “What do you think you're doing?” Jason hissed, trying to yank the blanket back, shove Dick out of the bed and keep from jostling Tim all at the same time.  
     “Careful not to wake Baby Bird, Jason.” Dick said, snuggling against his little brother's other side.  
      “Wha...ts goin on?” Tim said groggily.  
      “Just me Timmy, go back to sleep.” Dick said as Jason settled down shooting a murderous look at Dick but letting him stay where he was if it would put Tim back to sleep.  
***  
     When Batman stomped upstairs to find Jason he was furious that Dick hadn't reported him missing. His anger cooled when he found all three of his sons curled up in a nest of blankets in Tim's room. Looking down at Jason, sandwiched between Dick and Tim and looking almost peaceful he couldn't help feeling like this was where Jason should be. He knew he should take Jason, take the Red Hood, to Gordon but _this_ was where Jason belonged. Home, with his family to help him through whatever he had gone through these past few years.  
     Finally feeling the exhaustion he had kept at bay for weeks Bruce headed to his own room without disturbing his sons. He didn't know what to do and he hated being so indecisive, but he was completely overwhelmed. One son returned from the dead, another discovered for the first time and being raised as an assassin, and a costumed thief for a soulmate. So much all at once, all he needed now was for Red Hood's criminal empire to crumble and leave a power vacuum to inspire a gang war over control of the Gotham drug trade. Pinching the bridge of his nose Bruce realized that he would have to convince Jason to show him where the new territory lines lay after his takeover and give him the names of the people in his organization. To collapse the empire as safely as possible would take careful planning and the Red Hood would have to be seen more than once on the streets to prevent chaos before Batman had enough legal evidence to provide Gordon with to make the arrests stick.  
      Tomorrow. He would think about all of this tomorrow. After the meeting to turn down the most recent proposal for a Wayne / Powers merger. After the Animal Rights Celebrity Auction.  
***  
      With an hour left before the auction Batman had decided to do a quick patrol before hand. Both he and Dick would be at the auction and Tim was still off of patrol for his broken arm. With only Batgirl to watch the city while they were all elsewhere Batman needed to see for himself that the city was secure.  
     The sound of sirens and bullets flying caught his attention and Batman lept from the rooftops to a covered truck the gunmen were attempting to escape in. Hooking a grapple line around the steering wheel he turned the truck over on its side and lept away as the truck skidded down the road coming to a stop against two parked cars. Batman backed away into the shadows as police cars surrounded the downed vehicle. The driver crawled from the shattered windshield and escaped to the sewers as the gunmen surrendered to the police.  
     Commissioner Gordon approached his hiding place, more out of habit than of actually catching sight of him, and turned to face away from him. “Thanks, friend.”  
     “What's going down?” Batman inquired without approaching Gordon.  
     “This morning, I get a warning from the feds: Red Claw's in Gotham. Now this.”  
      “Any leads?”  
      “Nothing. Red Claw is the most ruthless terrorist leader in the world and we don't even have a picture of the guy.” Gordon explained.  
      “I'll see what I can do from my end.” Batman said, grappling up to the rooftops and away.  
      Batman had heard of Red Claw, but organizations halfway around the world weren't his priority, Gotham was. He may have to dig through years of reports before he could find anything useful about what Red Claw was up to in Gotham.  
      Returning to the Bat-cave he started the Batcomputer on a search for anything to do with Red Claw and called his partners down to brief them on the latest situation. Barbara was still in the manor and would be heading out on patrol once the briefing was finished, Dick would be getting ready for the auction, and Jason followed Tim though Bruce could tell that he didn't feel welcome. It wasn't exactly untrue, Bruce hadn't called for Jason specifically, and was a bit surprised that Jason hadn't stayed upstairs to avoid him.  
     With what little he already had on Red Claw he asked for any input from the others. Tim and Dick knew less than he did, though Barbara offered to hack the police's network for information on their own Red Claw investigation.  
     Surprisingly it was Jason who had something to add. “Red Claw used to be one of Ra's' top assassins, she helped train me right after...” Jason paused, apparently trying to decide how much he wanted to say. “She was so effective that Ra's let her use the Lazarus Pit, to keep her in his service for a few more decades but she was excommunicated from the League of Assassins a few years ago. She was trying to run her own organization right under Ra's' nose but apparently her methods were too extreme for him to put up with without it being on his orders. It's just a guess but I wondered if he was worried about having competition, she took some others with her when she left and Ra's definitely sent at least one spy among them.”  
     Jason didn't know any more than that, and nothing about any recent movements from Red Claw. It had surprised them all, in a way it probably shouldn't have, to learn that Red Claw was a woman but Batman was more concerned with the knowledge that Red Claw was acting under the same influence that had driven Ra's and Jason in their schemes. Ra's had confirmed that Jason had been restored by the Lazarus Pit, even if Jason didn't want to speak of it, and Batman was sure that whatever influence the Pit possessed over those who used it had been a driving factor in Jason's actions. Now there was another enemy influenced by the Lazarus Pit, and anyone who was too extreme for Ra's al Ghul was not someone to be trifled with. Batman sighed and dismissed his children from the cave, turning back to the computer to add to the search parameters that Red Claw was a woman. It was all he could do for now, he would have to investigate further after the auction.  
***  
     “You're seriously participating in a celebrity auction?” Jason had barged in as he was tying his dress shoes, and Bruce had picked up on his discomfort over how the meeting in the cave had gone. He was here seeking some less charged interaction to reassure himself that he hadn't overstepped by following Tim to the cave.  
     “I made a commitment, and Bruce Wayne has a reputation to protect.” Bruce said as he straitened the new tie he had purchased earlier that day. It was purple, as there hadn't been a single article of purple clothing in his closet when he had checked it that morning, taking more time to dress than usual and tipping Alfred off to the fact that he had met his soulmate. Alfred had even insisted on getting out the old box of crayons that he had purchased years ago during Bruce's childhood in anticipation of just this occasion. Bruce was honestly surprised that there were very few things in the manor that were purple and he wondered if there was an overall lack of color to the place or if it was only the particular color that had been neglected.  
     Jason snorted at that. “Guess that's the good part of being legally dead. I don't have to put in appearances at ridiculous events like that.”  
     “That shouldn't be difficult to remedy, I recently had reason to dig up your grave, I'm sure that commissioner Gordon would be curious as to why there is a manikin inside your coffin. I never gave any details of how you were killed, or if I even saw it happen, some terrorist organization may have been able to convince Bruce Wayne that you were dead and that there was no reason to take too close a look at the body. They may have been planning to ransom you later or use your bank accounts without my noticing or perhaps they simply wanted to recruit you to their cause.”  
     “You don't have to do that. You shouldn't do that, especially if you're going to have me arrested.”  
      “Jason,” Bruce paused with a sigh, “I met my soulmate last night.” The admission was painful, he had long hoped to never find his soulmate, being Batman was all that he had wanted to dedicate his life to when he had started. Now and forever it had seemed at the time, but he had taken in two sons since then and thought of Tim as the same, and there was another son somewhere in the world as well. Perhaps there was room in his life for more than the mission, and already he couldn't bear losing even a part of the small family he had brought together. His son's didn't detract from his dedication to the mission, they only made him more determined to make Gotham a better place, a safer place for them. Perhaps it would be the same with his soulmate, a partner that would help him and keep him focused, not a distraction from his cause. He wouldn't know if he didn't pursue it. Admitting it, even to his son, made it official and he would have no choice but to face the problem lest his family begin meddling in his affairs. “She's a thief who dresses like a cat. If I take you to the police I have to bring her in as well. If I have her arrested I have to have you arrested too.”  
     “Are you actually admitting that you don't always have all the answers? God Bruce you sound almost human tonight. So what, now you lay out some ground rules under which I don't have to go to jail and we pretend I was never gone as long as I play your little games? You marry this Catwoman and we all live happily ever after in this big house on the hill?”  
     “If you didn't want to be here you would have tried to leave by now.” Bruce crossed the room and placed a hand on his son's shoulder which was immediately shrugged off. “You can say you want to stay Jason, I know I have difficulty expressing myself, but my family is important to me. No matter what you do you are my son.” He could see that Jason was uncomfortable, confused in that way he'd always been if ever anyone tried to tell him he was welcome somewhere, that he was wanted. He likely wanted to run from the room and hide until he could sort out his feelings but his reactions had always tended towards anger and giving into that anger, twisting people's intentions to something more negative than they ever meant.  
      “But you still don't know if you're sending me to prison or not.” Jason accused more than questioned.  
      “I don't.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't have a blueprint of Wayne Manor, so I took a random guess at where the bedrooms are.  
> I also didn't bother to tag The Dark Knight Returns, even though I did kind of quote Alfred about being too extreme for Ra's.  
> Some of this chapter is a slightly rearranged version of the episode of Batman The Animated Series entitled "The Cat and the Claw" (Season 1 Episode 15). Mainly that Batman first encounters Red Claw before the charity auction instead of immediately after. (the auction is the only part of the next chapter that I have written so far)  
> Yes I know continuity is ridiculous at this point, going in the order of: Under the Red Hood (Film, not comic), Batman Beyond Return of the Joker, Batman the Animated Series, so basically the only part of Batman TAS that is in this story's continuity is specifically episodes 15 & 16.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if I said last time but there were some scenes/quotes from an episode of Batman TAS, well there's a bit more of that here.  
> And in the last chapter Bruce said that the color he sees is purple, well to go along with the crayons telling people what the colors are the color he sees is really called “Purple Heart” and he's just shortening the name, which matches a dress Selina wore in Batman TAS: The Cat and the Claw Part 1 and the DC Wikia images of Catwoman from Earth-Two's costume although her costume is the same style in this story as the one she wore in Batman: TAS, and I used this Wikipedia page to match that color: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Crayola_crayon_colors  
> Oliver and Roy are here, more Roy really, and he's not having a good life at the moment but it will get better (eventually). He's also four years younger than Dick here, 17 and 21, just cuz Roy needs to feel like an abandoned kid instead of an adult but I didn't feel like making him any younger than that. So ages are Dick 21, Jason 18, Roy 17, Tim 16, Damian 10  
> And Bette and Kathy aren't bats, just rich people.

     “Can you believe they're letting Bette bid tonight?” Dick hissed in his ear. “I'm doomed! Kathy will let her up the bidding as much as she wants and I'm going to have to go out on a date with Bette Kane!”  
     “I'm sure it isn't as bad as you make it out to be Dick.” Bruce said around the rim of the champagne glass he was pretending to sip from.  
     “I'll remember you said that the next time you complain about one of these events. That girl is obsessed with me! She almost caught me changing into Nightwing once!”  
     “Then make sure you take her on a lunch date, somewhere with a low crime rate, and leave the suit at home.” Bruce suggested.  
     “Bruce! Why am I not surprised to see you here?”  
     Turning from a somewhat indignant Dick gaping at him Bruce shook hands with Oliver Queen. “Well I try to attend as many charity events as society parties, keeps the tabloids happy. What are you doing so far from Star City Oliver?”  
     “Oh there's some proposal that Joseph Powers wants to discuss, I hear you turned them down again about a merger?”  
     “Yes, I don't trust Joseph Powers with my family's company. I may not be the best businessman but it took me years to get the company running in a direction I feel comfortable with, that I think my father would be proud of and I won't put Wayne Enterprises' future in the hands of a man who lays off half the company to raise profits for the board of directors.”  
     “Glad the man isn't trying to take over my company. Oh, I haven't introduced you, this is my son Roy.” Oliver gestured to the younger man that had strolled up next to him.  
     “Roy, nice to meet you.” Bruce shook the young man's hand, taking in his dilated pupils and half a dozen other clues that the boy was high. A quick glance at Oliver and he could tell that the man had no idea his son was using. He would have to come up with a way of pointing it out that wouldn't anger the man into assuming he was making a wild accusation.  
***  
     Roy shook hands with the Gotham billionaire, another one of Ollie's drunken society friends, apparently they went to school together at some point. The two went back to discussing Joseph Powers and everything else about Ollie's visit that Roy had no interest in when there was alcohol available so he wandered away to find a drink.  
     It wasn't that Ollie really approved of him drinking, but they had to keep up appearances and make sure their identities as vigilante's weren't discovered and acting like Ollie had at the same age was a good way to do that. Taking a drink from the table he wandered through the crowd that alternately paid him no attention and bombarded him with questions about his adopted father. Finally finding an empty corner of the room he hoped to go unnoticed for the rest of the auction.  
     “Next up for bidding we have Richard Grayson!” The auctioneer called as the young man glided across the stage. Roy nearly choked on his drink as he looked the other man up and down. This had to be the most beautiful man Roy had ever seen and damn if he wasn't more graceful than every woman in the room tonight. Downing the rest of the champagne and grabbing another glass quickly from a passing waiter Roy leaned back deeper in the shadows. He wasn't old enough to be drinking but most times no one at events like this would say anything about it, however he had taken more than a few glasses by now and despite how many drunken scenes Ollie had made over the years Roy wasn't actually encouraged to do the same.  
     With a sigh he drank down the next glass and stared mutely at the crowd of young women shouting out how much they would pay for just one date with the beautiful man. Too bad he couldn't join in, but he hadn't seen a single other man bid yet tonight, and it wasn't his money anyway. Ollie would never let him spend that much on anything, even if it was for charity. They were only putting in an appearance here to keep up the frivolous millionaire image while Ollie had actual business with Joseph Powers that he couldn't get out of, they were too busy on patrol most nights in Star City to be attending parties but it would be suspicious if Ollie stopped having a social life at all the same time the Arrow started fighting crime.  
     Another sigh as he watched a young blonde girl about his own age win the bidding. So much for that, not that he'd even tried to step forward. bracing one shoulder on the wall to keep the room from spinning his eyes followed Richard as he made his way from the stage and was ambushed by the girl, Bette Kane, the auctioneer had said. She was already hanging off his arm as the crowd of women steered him towards a table and handed him a drink. His smile was dazzling as he accepted it, and the women all tried to catch his eye. He looked like he loved it, all that attention, taking every drink the women handed him. Roy couldn't help feeling bitter with himself, the only time he had attention like that it was because someone wanted to get to Ollie, _who wanted the seventeen year old street kid when his millionaire father didn't have a wife yet?_  
     He couldn't watch any more, it wasn't like he would be able to get anywhere near Richard, and the man wouldn't spare him a second glance anyway with all those women falling all over him. He needed another fix, the drinks weren't the high he needed after a night like this.  
***  
     “Next, we'll be auctioning off a date with Gotham's most eligible bachelor... Mr. Bruce Wayne!” Bruce made his way through the crowd and climbed up to the stage as the auctioneer continued. “Remember, we've got lots of animals to save so we're going to start the bidding at $500.”  
     With a disinterested but seductive smile that he had perfected for his public persona as 'Brucie Wayne' Bruce watched the women in the crowd shouting to outbid each other for a single date with him. The auction meant half a night of patrol lost but he had investigated the charity thoroughly and the money would make it to the right hands to be of benefit to the wildlife the charity supported, and that was what mattered.  
     Finally the bidding was coming to a close when from the back of the crowd a voice called “Ten thousand dollars.” Ten times the previous bid. The shocked crowd parted for a stunning light haired woman that made Bruce's heart race.  
     He didn't know what it was about her, certainly having met his soulmate just last night should have put a stop to any attraction to anyone else, but the idea in the back of his mind that he was facing the Catwoman without their masks between them had him staring in awe as the auctioneer closed the bidding. “Do I hear any more bids? Then sold, for $10,000 to Ms. Selina Kyle.”  
     “I've never seen her before.” Bruce said in a daze as he made his way from the stage.  
     “Rumor has it she's a wildlife nut. She's supposed to be sponsoring a mountain lion preserve outside Gotham.” A man in the crowd that he only vaguely recognized at the moment shared.  
     Bruce approached her through the crowd determined to introduce himself to her. “It's a pleasure.” He said when he had her attention.  
     “Thank you.” She replied coolly, interrupted by another woman clearing her throat. “Mr. Wayne, my secretary, Maven.” Selina introduced.  
     “How do you do?” Bruce asked her briefly as Maven handed him a check for the auction before turning back to Selina. “Please, call me Bruce. I'm very flattered.”  
     “Please understand, it's purely for the animals, Mr. Wayne. You're off the hook.” She said, turning away.  
     “But you're not.” Bruce took her arm as he spoke.  
     “I beg your pardon?”  
     He could feel his face heating up as he explained. He hadn't blushed so uncontrollably in years. “You bought a date and I'm honor bound, and delighted, to deliver. I warn you I'm not a man who gives up easily.”  
     “All right, lunch then.” Selina agreed before turning to walk away with her secretary.  
     Bruce watched her go for a moment feeling a pang of loss as she dismissed him. It wasn't a depth of feeling he was accustomed to outside of interactions with his family, and it was disturbing in a way that someone he had only just met was making him feel this strongly.  
     Glancing about the room and noting Dick's location with Bette and a number of other women Bruce thought that perhaps he should find his aunt Kathy and have a word with her about Bette's behavior towards Dick, after all his son was trying his best to lose Bette's interest and the girl refused to take the hint. Perhaps Kathy could give Bette a bit of advice about the upcoming date she was forcing Dick to attend that would cool her interest. He doubted it would work but it was worth a shot.  
***  
     This was getting unbearable. Not only was Dick surrounded by woman who kept pushing drinks on him that he had no choice but to drink with all of their eyes on him but Bette was sitting in the booth besides him with her head on his shoulder. It wasn't like he disliked being around people, he loved people, but with Gotham's upper crust at these society things he always had to act like a completely different person. It was all part of Bruce's act, his son had to be just as much a partier as he was to keep people thinking there was no way they were costumed crime fighters but he couldn't stand being thought of as a brainless trophy for all these ladies to try to collect. If he could just meet his soulmate soon then he could at least tell all these women to stop getting him drunk just so they could steal a kiss from him before the end of the night. Sometimes he wished he wasn't so amorous when he was drunk, it was like he was encouraging them.  
     Glancing around the room desperately for Bruce he spotted the man with his own winning bidder, who didn't seem nearly as interested in her future date as Bette did with him, he nearly missed the conversation around him.  
     “So where are you going on your date?”  
     “Ohh...it's going to be so romantic, Richard and I know each other so well already that we don't have to stick to all the simple getting to know you venues.” Bette gushed at the other socialites.  
     The other women cooed over them like they were an established couple and Dick struggled to come up with a way out of an elaborate, and long, evening date Bette was planning out with the other women. After a few negatives he managed to voice were ignored or hushed he resigned himself to his doom and downed one drink after another as they were passed along to him.  
     The room around him was more than a little blurry when Bette pulled him from the booth to step out on the balcony, and it was only his well trained reflexes that kept him from stumbling embarrassingly. As they crossed the room to the balcony doors Dick bumped into another man and stumbled a bit anyway, eyes darting to meet the other young man's gaze as he apologized while Bette dragged him onwards. She didn't spare a glance for the man who was probably more age appropriate for her than he was if his blurry gaze calculated his age correctly. He was attractive too, there was something about him that had Dick looking back over his shoulder for the man, taking in his chin length hair and wide eyed stare as the man just stood there gazing after them.  
     Bette pulled him out the door to the balcony and suddenly shoved him against the railing, pressing a kiss to his lips, that he didn't stop fast enough in his inebriated state. There were some things that even being drunk couldn't distract one from though, and the sixth sense all Robins had of Batman's glare being directed at them kicked in as he shoved Bette away from him and looked around nervously. Bruce was at the other end of the balcony with Kathy Kane, though their conversation had obviously been interrupted by the children they were supposed to be supervising stumbling out for a kiss right in front of them. Dick swallowed nervously under both gazes but Bette didn't seem to be bothered by her aunt's stare.  
     “Well I think we should get going Dick, you had plans tomorrow morning with Tim didn't you?” Bruce cut in, pulling Dick through the party and out to the car. With a relieved sigh Dick settled in and dozed off for the ride back to the manor.  
***  
     Jason sighed and glanced over at the clock as Tim tried to slip out of bed. Four in the morning, same time he got up yesterday. Apparently the same time Tim woke up every day. Rolling over Jason pinned down the younger man beneath him as he tried to crawl to the edge of the bed. “You need more sleep.” He insisted as Tim tried unsuccessfully to drag himself further across the bed and out from under Jason. “That arm will heal faster with more sleep.”  
     “I have work to do. I need my computer.”  
     “You have sleep to do. Stop squirming.” Jason replied, nosing at the back of Tim's neck.  
     “Jason, I really need to get up.” Tim insisted.  
     “Not happening.” Jason said, ignoring Tim's complaints and falling back asleep for another two hours until he was woken again by an elbow jammed into his ribs by Tim. Though he was coughing through the rude awakening he managed to keep Tim pinned.  
     “I need to start tracking Ra's and Talia, Bruce is distracted with Red Claw, but if I'm benched anyway I can at least use a computer.”  
     “You can use a computer at a reasonable hour. Wait, have you been thinking about this the entire time I was asleep?” Jason asked hoarsely. “If this is how early you wake up every day how much sleep do you run on daily? When does your patrol end anyway?”  
     “Jason please? I won't be able to sleep anyway.”  
     Groaning at his failure Jason rolled to his side and allowed Tim to escape from the bed. He rubbed his chest where he was sure he would bruise from Tim's hit, though it wouldn't hurt for much longer, Jason stared at the ceiling until his eyes fluttered closed. He had dozed off for barely five minutes when Tim startled him awake again.  
     “I need coffee.”  
     “Hmmm.”  
     “Jason, go get me a cup of coffee.”  
     “How can you insist on getting up this early when you know you're too tired to function without caffeine?” Jason asked, pulling a pillow over his face as Tim flipped on his desk lamp.  
     “I just do. Go get me coffee.”  
     Jason levered himself reluctantly out of bed, leaning over Tim's shoulder to squint at his computer. It was already running what looked like half a dozen search programs and must have been hooked up to the Bat-computer because there was no way the average looking laptop had that kind of processing power.  
     “Does Bruce know about this mini Bat-computer?”  
     “ _Coffee_.” Tim whined instead of answering.  
     “Alright baby bird, I'll see if I can sneak past Alfred, gatekeeper of the kitchen to acquire a cup of the toxic waste you believe is the nectar of the gods.” Jason teased, planting a kiss on Tim's cheek before straitening up again.  
     Heading to the kitchen along a familiar path Jason didn't see anyone else awake this early, though he never really knew when Alfred would sleep, he always seemed to be awake whenever anyone else was even if he wasn't in the same room.  
     Everything in the kitchen was in the same place it had always been, so it didn't take long to pour a cup of coffee, though he realized that he didn't know if Tim wanted anything added to it. While he was trying to decide if he should bring along sugar or anything else he didn't notice that Alfred had entered the kitchen.  
     “Sneaking coffee for Master Timothy are you Master Jason?” Alfred's voice interrupted him.  
     “Hey, I drink this sludge too.”  
     “Around the same time in the morning that Master Timothy tries to sneak in here for a cup?”  
     “Well, he keeps waking me up anyway, I'm going to need this if I'm going to be up this early.”  
     “If you insist Master Jason, do make sure Master Timothy makes it downstairs for breakfast today, won't you?”  
     “Sure Alfred, no problem.” Jason agreed with a grin as he escaped with Tim's coffee.  
     When he arrived back Tim turned to face him, gaze zeroing in on the coffee immediately. Jason went down on one knee beside Tim's chair and held up the coffee cup for him. “Your chalice my liege.”  
     “My hero.” Tim said, accepting the cup and draining half of it immediately as he turned back to the computer.  
     Jason leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Tim's waist, yanking him out of the chair after he'd set the coffee down.  
     “ _Jasoooon!_ Why are you doing this to _meeee?_ I'm trying to _wooork_.” Tim whined in exasperation as he sprawled over Jason on the floor.  
     “And what am I supposed to do while you are? I could have been sleeping if someone hadn't sent me on a lofty quest.”  
     “You can tell me anything you know about Talia, Ra's, the League and anywhere you think Damian might be living... anything that might help me put together an extraction proposal for Bruce.”  
     With a long suffering sigh Jason spent the next several hours explaining the layout of Ra's stronghold, to which he knew Bruce already knew at least the location of, having visited it just weeks ago. Eventually he ended up taking advantage of the emptiness of Tim's room to run through a number of stretches and exercises, he hadn't been training much the last few days since he had been staying in the manor. Not wanting to make use of the Batcave or make Bruce angry showing off moves that he wouldn't approve of. Tim kept quiet while he did this, glued to his computer screen and they wound up in a companionable silence that was as pleasant as any conversation they could have filled the silence with.  
     “THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!” At around ten they were suddenly interrupted when Dick shouted from down the hall, startling them. With barely a glance at each other they raced out of the room to find their older brother, concerned by the desperation in his cry.  
***  
     Dick groaned as he came to the next morning. At least Alfred had left the curtains closed this morning so that the blinding sunlight didn't make his head pound. He rolled over off the edge of the bed without opening his eyes and stayed crouched down for a minute to get his balance back. _How the hell did this keep happening?_ Bruce never got this drunk when people handed him drinks at parties, Hell, Dick didn't even remember most of last night. Cracking his eyes open Dick took a slow breath and got to his feet, the room around him seemed to swim and there was something wrong with his eyesight. Shuffling over to the nearest wall Dick squinted at the black and grey room he was so familiar with, panicking at the differences in decoration here and there. The pattern on his favorite chair, the small painting of birds on a tree branch, and a dozen other things weren't grey as they had been yesterday.  
     “This can't be happening.” Dick wasn't aware he whispered out loud over the sudden pounding of blood in his ears as his heart sped up. “THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!” He shouted, lunging for the closest object he could reach that was suddenly in _color_. His hands shook as he stared at the robin plushie he kept on the dresser as decoration, trying to understand how this could have happened.  
     The door swung open and he lifted his gaze to see Jason and Tim entering the room, watching him warily. “Dick, are you okay? Did something happen?” Tim asked, peering around from behind Jason as they came closer slowly.  
     “What color is this?! What color?!” He shouted up at them, shoving the robin plushie towards them.  
     “What color is it to you Dick?” Jason asked, crouching down to his level.  
     “I don't know!” Dick whined, pulling the robin back to his chest.  
     “Tim go ask Alfred for the Crayons.” Jason suggested over his shoulder at the younger boy before looking back at Dick's watering eyes. “What happened?”  
     “I don't remember!” Dick cried, throwing himself forward into his little brother's chest, burying his face in Jason's shirt. “I don't remember anything about last night! I've waited so long for this and now I have no idea who my soulmate is!”  
     He felt Jason's arms wrap around him as he sobbed, rubbing his back and stroking his hair. “There's gotta be some kind of guest list right? Lists of who was working the event? Maybe you can track them down. You find unknown people on unsubstantial evidence for a living, you have plenty of practice.”  
     Dick felt his heart slow its racing at Jason's soothing and he sniffed as his tears stopped. “Sorry, I, I saw... when I woke up and...”  
     “You're still pretty hungover right? You were really disoriented seeing it first thing like that. It will work out Dick, no way I have better luck than you do, if I can find my soulmate you can too. Whoever you're soulmate is they will probably be beating the door down looking for you, no way they didn't fall in love with you the second they laid eyes on you. Most people do, right?”  
     Jason helped him sit back up on the edge of his bed, sitting with an arm around him and Dick's head on his shoulder when Tim came in followed by Alfred who carried a box of crayons. He passed the box to Jason who flipped it open one handed and held it in front of them. There were 63 grey and black crayons, and one that wasn't. Carefully Dick pulled it out of the box and turned it sideways to read the name off the label. Mango Tango, he couldn't help the laugh he had in response to that name. Forgetting his tears for a moment as Jason joined in a moment later and shared the name with Tim and Alfred.  
     “Who named these colors? What were those Crayola people thinking?” Jason choked out through the laughter.  
     “It's whimsical, I like it.” Dick said as he replaced the crayon.  
     “Just so long as you don't begin performing ballroom dances with the fruit bowl Master Richard. I would rather not find myself scrubbing mango juice off the ballroom floor at all hours of the day.” Alfred said with an indulgent smile for the children in his care and their lightened mood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...and isn't that a fun image to leave you with for the cliffhanger? Ballroom dancing with bowls of fruit? Well, I thought it was funny.  
>  For the purposes of this story Kathy Kane is the aunt of both Bruce and Bette, though depending on the universe that isn't their relation in the comics.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Sigh* sorry for the long wait, various excuses here. So this chapter is the shortest one yet and I didn't get into things as much as I wanted to but at least I'm finally updating, hurrah.

     Her cat's surrounded her as she was brushing her hair in front of the mirror. Selina had chosen a dark pair of shoes that seemed to be close enough in shade to match her dress even if they weren't the same color, though she wondered if those who could see every color would disagree with her choice. She occasionally tried to tag her clothing, shoes and accessories with the customary color name tags that came with the garments from the stores but her cats always got into her closet and batted at the strings until they fell to the floor. She wouldn't risk one of her precious cats trying to swallow one of the tags so she had recently decided not to bother with the practice, though she risked high society insulting her fashion choice if the colors didn't match. If one of the society ladies she had a meeting with didn't like the clashing colors it could negatively impact her charity efforts but she wouldn't risk her cat's lives over losing funding from some well to do fashion Nazi who'd never worked a day in her life.  
     “Aren't you at least a little excited about tonight?” Maven asked a bit teasingly. “I mean, Mr. Wayne is tall, dark and disgustingly rich.”  
     “I'd rather it were Batman.” Selina said as she put in her earrings. “Oh, you should've seen him, Maven. He had the eyes of a lion.” She stared into the mirror, unsure of her feelings about going to lunch with Bruce. When she had arrived home after her last theft, having escaped from _the Batman_ with her prize, she had assumed that the thrill of beating the Dark Knight was why she was so excited. It wasn't until she had changed out of her costume and thrown it over a chair to slip into her robe that she had realized it looked different. She usually hid the suit away immediately after a quick inspection for damage or dirt but she had to take it into the bathroom for a look under the brighter lights.  
     The suit hadn't been grey as she had always assumed, no it was a color that she had since learned was called Purple Heart, a color which was surprisingly prevalent in her wardrobe. The only person she had seen since she had put on the suit was Batman, he had to be her soulmate, there was no one else it could be. The excitement she'd had from giving him the slip wore off suddenly as she realized that she had no way to contact her soulmate, and indeed even if she did meet him again he might actually turn her over to the police. From all of the rumors she had heard and all of the intel she had dug up she knew he was serious about every form of lawbreaking, in fact it seemed he only allowed himself and those heroes he seemed to approve of to break the law for the purpose of upholding it.  
     Her cause was a worthy one though, surely he wouldn't be her soulmate if he would be unable to see the value in what she was doing. That it wasn't just humans who needed protecting, that the laws were letting down the animals that people shared this world with just as much as it was failing the humans Batman fought for. She would just need to show him the good she was doing in her own way, as he had his own way of doing good as well.  
     Stirring her from her thoughts the buzzer rang and Maven answered the intercom by the door. The doorman informed them that Bruce Wayne had arrived.  
     “Here we go.” Selina sighed.  
     “Come on, Selina. At least he's a good society connection. You might be able to use him.” Maven said as she went to answer the ringing phone.  
     “I suppose you're right. Still, I wish it were Batman standing behind this door.” Selina answered the door for Bruce, who held out some deep black roses. Selina wondered what color they really were and if someday soon Batman, or the man of mystery beneath the mask, would show her every color that roses came in. “Bruce, how wonderful to see you. Please, come in.” Selina said, putting on a false smile.  
     “You're even more stunning than I remember.” Bruce complimented as she went to put the flowers in water.  
     “Selina, it's your lawyer. He says the deal is off.” Maven said, trading her the phone for the flowers.  
     “Martin, what happened?” Selina asked with dread.  
     “His agent says that he's selling to Multigon, they came up with a better offer for the land after all.”  
     “That's ridiculous. He can't sell to Multigon! We had an agreement! You tell him that I want to meet with him.”  
     “I already tried that, but the Multigon paperwork will be finalized in two days and I haven't been able to get ahold of his secretary-”  
     “What? Do you mean he won't take your calls? You go there and kick the door down if you have to, I want that land for the wildlife preserve.” Selina slammed the phone down and slumped into a seat on the couch. Turning to Bruce she addressed him. “I'm afraid I'm not going to be very good company tonight.”  
     “Is there anything I can do?” He asked kindly.  
     “Not unless you can get me a meeting with the chairman of Multigon International.”  
     “What time's good for you?” Bruce asked as he picked up the phone and started dialing.  
     _Hmm... I'm starting to like this guy._ Selina thought as she listened to Bruce arrange a meeting immediately. Bruce Wayne was well known for his charitable donations to any number of causes and Selina wondered if at heart he was just as passionate about his own causes as she was hers. She always tried not to put too much stock in rumors but Bruce Wayne was a man difficult not to assume the most superficial of after the very many tabloid scandals focused around him but perhaps he simply didn't possess a head for business to match his good intentions. Having an ally with Bruce Wayne's pull in the business community would certainly be an asset to her work.  
***  
     The walls of the office in the Multigon International Tower that they were shown into was lined with mounted animal heads from around the world, most of them rare species that had recently and even not so recently been placed on the endangered list. It was clear that Selina would have her work cut out for her convincing these people to give up the land they wanted for Selina's wildlife preserve. Already the meeting hadn't gone well, and Bruce had to hold back his own arguments for what was certainly a worthy cause in his opinion to keep up his appearance as a brainless playboy.  
     Apparently Multigon had already made a commitment with another business partner and a number of investors including Joseph Powers to a well known construction firm to build a major resort on the land at the edge of Gotham County where according to Selina's research the largest local population of mountain lions resided. Selina's argument that the land was in the middle of nowhere didn't sway the man they were meeting with, a Mr. Stern, though Bruce wondered how Multigon was planning on bringing in guests with no other attractions nearby.  
     With the man's last words, suggesting rather ominously that the mountain lions would be 'taken care of' by Multigon, Selina stormed out with her own threat to bring down every environmental group and animal rights activist she could get ahold of watching Multigon's every move as they moved forward with the project.  
     “Have a nice day.” Bruce called back to the man offhandedly as he followed Selina to the elevator.  
     As they rode the elevator down to the lobby Selina sighed. “It's awfully late for lunch. Do you think we could reschedule for tomorrow? I don't know how I'm going to sort all this business out on such short notice.”  
     “Okay, tomorrow then.” Bruce agreed, though he admitted to himself that he was disappointed, and that he hoped Selina could sort out the land deal and would be in a better mood for their date tomorrow.  
     Selina insisted that he didn't need to come back up to her apartment once they had arrived at her building, but a true gentleman always walked a woman to her door, and 'Brucie the playboy' had a reputation to keep up as well.  
     “Really Bruce you didn't need to come all the way up. The building has security guards, and Maven is here.”  
     “Does Maven live in this building too?”  
     “Same apartment actually, we're practically family.” As they reached the door Selina turned to him. “Really, thank you again for getting me a meeting with Multigon, I know this wasn't how you wanted to spend the day.” Selina leaned in to kiss him on the cheek and as she pulled away the corners of their lips met.  
***  
     “What are you looking at anyway?” Jason asked, leaning over Dick's shoulder to look at the smaller window Dick had open on the Bat-computer.  
     “Airport security footage, we've gotten a lot of alerts recently of associates of Deathstroke migrating towards the Hindu Kush.”  
     Well at least Dick wasn't still freaking out or pining over his missing soulmate, not that Jason didn't know what that was like, but from personal experience he knew it was better to keep busy than to dwell on it. “Does that have something to do with a case or are you just stalking your ex?”  
     With an exasperated sigh Dick replied. “For the hundredth time, nothing happened between me and Slade. He made a good case when I was mad at Bruce and I wanted to be fooled but it was just a team up.”  
     Jason snorted. _Slade,_ not Deathstroke or Mr. Wilson, _Slade_. “Sure, and you were dressed just like him because of your always terrible sense of style. Admit it, Mr. and Mr. Slade were dressed in matching couples costumes.”  
     “Oh my God.” Tim's mortified exclamation drew both of them out of their nostalgic teasing and they turned to where Tim had frozen on the stairs to stare at them. “You and Deathstroke!?”  
     “No! Jason's just being a jerk!” Dick said, jumping up to reassure the Baby Bird that looked up to him that he hadn't dated a killer three times his age when he was sixteen. “He's been insisting on that joke since he was twelve, it's not true!” Dick insisted, pulling Tim into a smothering hug.  
     While they were distracted Jason sat down at the Bat-computer and pulled up the rest of the files that Dick had been referring to. Deathstroke was a member of the League of Assassins, similar to how Jason himself was, a member but allowed to pursue his own agenda instead of constantly following the al Ghul's every order and taking constant assassination jobs one after another. He wasn't sure if Dick, or Bruce, even knew that Deathstroke had ties to the League. As far as Jason knew Deathstroke's membership was more of a formality to prevent Ra's having to send assassins after the mercenary, since they were unlikely to be able to terminate the terminator. Supposedly it was the only way they'd been able to come to a compromise after a conflict of interest an a big job years back. The occasional partnership and intel swap was all that ever came of it but the Hindu Kush was far too close to Nanda Parbat for Jason to believe it was a coincidence. In fact, he was surprised that Bruce hadn't already connected Deathstroke's movements as League related.  
     He couldn't copy or forward anything from the Bat-computer without Dick or Bruce finding out but he was certain that Tim could get in and get the information if he wanted to, Jason would just have to convince him later to do it.  
***  
     As Selina pulled on her catsuit she noticed something odd. The stitching that had remained grey when she had inspected the color of the suit the other night was no longer grey. “Maven!”  
     “Selina what is it?” her friend called as she rushed into the room.  
     “The crayons, where did you leave them?”  
     “They're right here on your nightstand Selina, what's wrong?”  
     “The stitching on my suit isn't grey, but it isn't Purple Heart either!” Selina exclaimed as she snatched the box and overturned it on the bed. There were two crayons now that were no longer grey, and she quickly snapped up the new one “Maximum Blue Purple.” She read the name aloud to Maven and dropped the crayon back onto the bed. “Maven, _Bruce Wayne_ is the Batman.”  
     “What? Selina he can't be, they've been seen in the same place more than once.”  
     “There's no other way to explain it, I haven't seen Batman since that night, and I kissed Bruce Wayne just hours ago.”  
     “You kissed him? I thought you didn't like him.” Maven asked curiously.  
     “Well like you said, he's a good connection, and he did set up that Multigon meeting...” Selina explained uncomfortably.  
     “Selina, you shouldn't just kiss people to be polite. That's what shaking hands is for.” Maven scolded, reminding Selina that she was the more responsible of the two of them.  
     With a sigh Selina sat on a portion of the bed that wasn't covered in crayons, burying her face in her hands. “Oh Maven, what am I supposed to do? Bruce must be the Batman, but now he knows that I'm Catwoman.”  
     “You're assuming he didn't already figure that out. This is Batman we're talking about. I think he must be freaking out about this at least as much as you are, after all he does have you for a soulmate.” Maven teased as she took a seat next to Selina.  
     Selina looked up with a small smile. “Hey now, Selina Kyle is a great catch, I just don't know if he's planning to catch Catwoman first. Do you think Batman want's a thief for a soulmate?”  
     “You're not only a thief, you just said so yourself. Besides, you're doing good in your own way, Batman's crime fighting isn't exactly legal either. If he can look the other way on his own actions and those friends of his, Batgirl and Nightwing, then he can add Catwoman to the list. If he doesn't he's a hypocrite and you can do better than him anyway.” Maven said with confidence.  
     “Mmm, true enough. You always know what to say Maven, thank you.” Selina stood and moved to don the rest of her suit. “I'm heading back to Multigon, there's more to their plans for that land than just a resort, I know it.”  
     “Is that the best idea? Besides, if Multigon is up to something illegal maybe you should tell Batman, he might be able to help.” Maven suggested.  
     “This isn't anything I haven't done before Maven, I'll be fine, I just need to dig up one of Multigon's secrets.” With these parting words Selina slipped out of the window with Isis draped over her shoulders.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sooo sorry for not updating since November! I wanted to get really detailed on the second scene of this chapter but I could not figure it out! It's all Roy's fault again! :( I ended up needing a break because I was so frustrated with it, but I'm back now, yay! :)  
> So this chapter is still about as long as the others, but I may start doing shorter chapters after this, like my other works, I think I will update more often if I do it that way, we'll see...  
> And I went back and added to chapter 1 again, but you don't have to go back and re-read unless you want to see a little more of 10-year-old Tim meeting the Wayne family...and this will be the last time I let myself add to previous chapters I promise!

     “Bruce, can we talk for a moment?” Dick said from where he hovered in the doorway to Bruce's study.  
     Bruce looked up from his desk covered in scattered Wane Enterprises documents. He was clearly in the middle of something and Dick didn't really want to interrupt but Jason was hiding behind the door next to him and he shoved Dick inside before closing the door behind him. Dick sighed and walked farther into the room, taking in the tiniest smile on Bruce's face at what had just happened.  
     “I, um, something happened at the charity auction...” He started, getting down to business.  
     The smile disappeared and Bruce frowned at him, coming forward to lead him to a chair. They sat down side by side and Dick could feel Bruce watching him carefully, trying to determine what was bothering him.  
     “What is it Dick?”  
     “I-I met... Someone at the auction was my soulmate.” Dick finally managed to force the words out. He stared down at his hands, feeling too nervous to meet Bruce's eyes. “I don't remember who it is, Bruce! I just woke up in the morning with a color, I can't remember seeing any one specific person.”  
     Bruce's hands came into Dick's line of sight, covering his own hands. “It's alright Dick, I know you can find them again. You've always been talented at finding people.”  
     “Jason said we could look through lists of who was at the auction...” Dick said dejectedly, tuning his hands to tangle his fingers with his adopted father's.  
     “Jason is right, I'll call the planners of the auction, we'll get ahold of every employee and guest list they have and we'll find your soulmate.” Bruce said, tentatively laying a hand on his shoulder.  
     Dick sighed. They hadn't actually done anything to find his soulmate but just talking about it seemed to lift more weight off of his heart. Still, he knew Bruce had work to do, and he couldn't take up all of Bruce's time even if he did want to stay and be comforted by his father. Dick stood and made his way to the doorway, but he was halted by Bruce's next words.  
     “In the meantime, don't forget that you have a date with Bette Kane.” Bruce reminded him.  
     “How could I forget?” Dick asked with a grimace.  
***  
     “I just want to know what the hell you were thinking Roy!” Oliver shouted as he followed his son through the house. The flight back to Star City had been a long one and like an idiot Oliver had thought it was a good time to bring up his concerns about the hints that Bruce Wayne of all people had dropped in regards to Roy's state at the charity auction. Asking your son if he had a bad drug habit was a lot more difficult than the digital pamphlets he'd looked up on his phone had suggested it would be, and Roy's hard stare and accompanying silence made Oliver far more uncomfortable than he'd like to admit. Roy had completely frozen him out for the remainder of the flight and Oliver had been deeply concerned over the fact that this reaction certainly wasn't a denial. His continued questions in the car on the way back to the house had finally gotten a reaction and Roy had blown up, shouting half a dozen insults in his face and confirming Oliver's fears.  
     Roy slammed his bedroom door in Oliver's face but he couldn't just let this go. Turning the doorknob Oliver discovered that the door was locked, which it shouldn't have been given that there hadn't even been a lock on the door the last time he'd been inside.  
     “Roy! How did you block this door? It doesn't even have a lock!” Oliver called through the door.  
     “God Ollie, maybe if you talked to me outside of training and patrol you'd have noticed I built in a thumbprint scanner last month to replace the numeric keypad I put in last year!” Roy shouted back at him.  
     “Look, I get that you don't want to talk about this but we need to! I'm not just trying to criticize you I need to know what's going on!” Oliver yelled back.  
     “Right, you need to know everything, if you're not in control of everything I do then it must be something I'm doing wrong!” Roy smashed something and Oliver slammed a hand against the door in response, trying to get a handle on the anger he was feeling.  
     “Roy, this is serious, I know that I don't know what's really going on with you but we have to-”  
     The door was thrown open and Roy interrupted him. “We don't have to do anything, it's none of you're business!”  
     “The Hell it isn't!”  
     “You're not my father!” Roy screamed.  
     “If that's the way you feel than why are you living in my house?” Oliver shouted back.  
     “I don't know! Maybe I'll leave then!” Roy yelled as he shoved Oliver out of the doorway and yanked his coat back on before slamming his way out the front door.  
     Oliver ran a hand over his face and breathed out unsteadily. This wasn't how this confrontation was supposed to go. He hadn't meant to drive Roy away at all, he wanted to help. Oliver headed back to the door himself, reaching for his coat. He would just have to go after Roy and tell him to come home. His phone beeped insistently. A tone that he'd set specifically, one that he never ignored. With a sigh he pulled out the phone and looked at the update. Merlyn, of course. The man was always getting in the way every time Oliver was in the middle of something important and non-Arrow related.  
     Turning around Oliver headed down to the Arrowcave instead, pulling up the details on where Merlyn was and what he was doing. The location was right here in Star City apparently, and Merlyn was on a contract assassination. Not something that could be ignored, no matter what Oliver Queen was in the middle of, the people who needed the Arrow's protection came first. Oliver went to work sorting out the weapons he thought he would need against Merlyn and filled his quiver in a rush. He dressed quickly and jumped on his motorcycle, heading for Star City International Airport.  
***  
     The crown princess of Vlatava was arriving in Star City tonight, that made her the highest profile target Merlyn could be after. Traffic around the airport was at a stand still, extra security for the princess's arrival slowing everything down. The Arrow had to hide his motorcycle before he got anywhere near the airport and continue on foot. By the time he was making his way inside the airport screams were already in the air. He ran past civilians fleeing towards him and followed the sound of gunshots, arriving in an open area where a section of hallway had been roped off from the escalators in time to see the last of the princess's bodyguards go down.  
     Arrow lept over the railing and shot a smoke arrow at the shooter before he could pull the trigger on the princess. The room filled quickly with black smoke, distracting the shooters, who coughed as they inhaled too much of it. Judging by their positions as they had fallen her guards had been trying to get her back up the escalator. Before the smoke cleared Arrow punched one of the killers and hit the other with a non fatal arrow. He approached the princess slowly, trying to appear non-threatening.  
     “I'm the Arrow, protector of Star City. I'm here to help.” He told her, wishing he didn't have to growl everything in a lower voice as part of his costumed identity, he was probably scaring her as much as the shooters.  
     Gunshots rang out and a bullet ricocheted off the escalator next to them and Arrow grabbed the princess before she could react and sprinted up the escalator. He dodged behind a pillar as two more shooters opened fire and dived behind a row of chairs, digging out two more of the specialized arrows that Roy had made. One he shot at the large window facing them while the other he detached a cable from the back end of and shot back into the pillar as the window shattered.  
     “Okay princess, arms around my neck and don't let go!” Arrow told her. She followed his instruction quickly and he lept through the window, shooting the arrow attached by cable to the pillar at the wing of an airplane parked outside. His bow was hooked over the cable and they slid across the distance until they were close enough to the ground that he could detach the cable and drag them both behind the plane's tires for cover from the shooters now standing in the window.  
     Running through the parked planes and support vehicles Arrow narrowly avoided a moving plane as it shot by. “That dragon almost got us.” He said to the princess, hoping he wasn't doing too badly with this rescue.  
     “You realize that I'm ten years old, and do not require fairytale metaphors to understand what is happening?” Princess Perdita asked skeptically.  
     “It's... my first time rescuing royalty.” Was all he could think of to say to that as he observed what little he could make out of the rest of the airport in the dark.  
     “It is quite a forgivable sin... Robin Hood.” The princess said, clearly teasing, more calm than he assumed most kids would be in a life threatening situation.  
     Suddenly another arrow shot out of the darkness and he dragged the princess out of the line of fire, catching sight of Merlyn on a rooftop taking aim at them again. He managed to dodge the arrows Merlyn fired at them, but he couldn't shoot back while carrying the princess, and he had to duck behind a baggage truck when he ran out of other vehicles to screen between them and Merlyn.  
     “Do you know why they're after you?” He asked as he finally started shooting back at the Dark Archer.  
     “My father died last night. Now I am the queen.” She said sadly.  
     “Your uncle, he's a count right?” He asked as he started the baggage truck and they jumped onto the side of it to keep the rest of the truck between themselves and Merlyn's arrows.  
     “Count Werner Vertigo, yes.”  
     “So if something happens to you, he'd be the king?”  
     “You think he is behind this?” Queen Perdita asked, surprise in her voice.  
     “Well, he's caused some trouble here in the states so I think it's possible, but I don't have proof just from a look at these hired guns.” Arrow said, trying not to be biased, after all it was true that there hadn't been anything so far to prove just who had hired any of these killers. He'd dealt with Count Vertigo before and the man usually turned up himself at some point, so unless they saw him it was possible he wasn't behind this.  
     They made it back inside and he jumped up onto one of the baggage conveyors, following it through the maze and shooting the occasional arrow at the other shooters who'd found them but couldn't get close enough before the conveyor moved on. Eventually they tumbled down an incline and he and the queen came to a stop in baggage claim.  
     “Arrow, once again you've horned in on my act.”  
     Arrow's gaze shot up as Merlyn's voice called through the room, yanking a suitcase up to take the arrow headed strait for him. “That's me, always stealing the spotlight.” He said as he stepped off the conveyor and raised his own bow to aim at the other archer.  
     “As I recall you've lost all of our duels.” Merlyn continued.  
     “You lost?” Queen Perdita sounded concerned.  
     “I've been practicing.” Arrow whispered to her without looking away from Merlyn. “One arrow each?” He called to the Dark Archer.  
     “I accept. On three.”  
     When they got to three they both released their own arrows and then dived out of the way of the other's, coming up again with a second arrow aimed at each other. Suddenly another voice interrupted, echoed from a side hallway.  
     “If you want something done right, do it yourself.” Count Vertigo stepped into view, and already Arrow could feel the effect of his technology, and he saw Perdita fall to the ground behind him as he went down more slowly. Merlyn seemed unaffected by Vertigo's technology and went to stand at his employer's side.  
     Suddenly there was a wave of sound overwhelming the Count's power and Count Vertigo was blown off his feet and slammed into Merlyn. They both crumpled to the floor and the Arrow looked up at the most gorgeous woman he'd ever seen. He blinked suddenly, and stared. Her hair, it wasn't light grey as he'd assumed, it was a shining... _color_ , her hair was a color!  
     “Your hair-” They both spoke at the same time, eyes wide with shock.  
     “Well this is not how I expected to meet my soulmate. Now my sister's going to think she did me a favor by running away.” The mystery woman said to herself. “There are police on their way inside, I took down enough of those hired guns to clear the way for them. How do you want to deliver the princess?” She asked.  
     “Who are you?!” Was all the Arrow could think to answer.  
     “She is your soulmate?” Perdita asked, looking back and fourth between them.  
     “I'm the Black Canary.” The mystery woman answered him.  
     “How about we go out for drinks after this?” He asked.  
     “I didn't come to Star City to go on a date.” She said, curtly.  
     “Hey, all I'm saying is we should go for coffee and talk about this.” Arrow replied.  
     “Say yes! After all, every queen needs her consort.” Perdita insisted.  
     “She's right, every queen does.” Arrow said, thinking of the irony that the statement referred to himself as well. After all, his name was actually Queen.  
     “If we get out of here without having to answer questions from the police I will get coffee with you for an exchange of information, there's someone I need to find that should be here in Star City.” Black Canary finally agreed.  
     They all started walking away from the baggage carousel, Black Canary lifting a hastily re-zipped suitcase from behind a row of seats near the doorway, and made their way towards the more common entrance to the airport where the police would most likely be sweeping through by now. Arrow and Black Canary kept an eye out for any other threats, each noticing the sight lines the other was keeping an eye on and falling into a pattern to compliment each others work.  
     They found a good vantage point on a higher level looking out over the swarm of police pouring over the scene of the initial attack. Black Canary pulled Perdita down with them as they crouched below the edge of the railing overlooking the first floor.  
     “Why do we not simply announce ourselves if the battle is done?” Perdita asked.  
     “From what I hear, the police go back and forth between whether they want to work with or arrest the Arrow.” Black Canary explained.  
     “So you have heard of me?” Arrow grinned to himself as he looked the opposite way.  
     “Hard not to, you haven't exactly been subtle.” It was hard to tell if she was being snide or just sarcastic.  
     Arrow pulled out the burner phone he used to contact people as the Arrow and dialed the only saved number. “Detective Lance,” Black Canary gave him a startled look at that but didn't say anything, “Count Vertigo and the Dark Archer are in baggage claim, the princess is safe.”  
     “Of course you're here, you took out all the gunmen?” Detective Lance asked with the same note of contempt in his voice that the Arrow had grown so used to.  
     “I can't be sure of that but I've taken care of everyone I've run into.”  
     “Fine, just bring the girl out here and let the SCPD take over.”  
     “Does that mean you're not in the mood to arrest me tonight detective?”  
     “Just send her out before I change my mind and decide to arrest you after all.” Detective Lance barked before hanging up.  
     “Detective Lance is going to take over now princess, I think you'll be safe with him, I've worked with him often enough to know he takes his job seriously and he always tries to do the right thing.” Arrow said.  
     “Good luck with that, I'm out of here.” Black Canary scooped up her suitcase again and stood slowly, peering around the pillar she now stood behind.  
     “You're leaving?” Arrow asked, startled.  
     “I don't get involved with cops. That's a good way to become a national spectacle, like you. I prefer not having my name plastered all over the news and being constantly interfered with to the point where I can't actually make a difference.” Black Canary explained tersely as she turned to move down the hallway leading away from the visible police presence downstairs.  
     “You're still going out for coffee though, yes?” Perdita asked her before she could disappear. Arrow felt grateful to the queen for asking the question he'd been trying to articulate.  
     “I'll meet you a block away from the north entrance, don't make me wait Arrow.” Black Canary called back over her shoulder as she disappeared from sight.  
     “She is very independent, she will be a good partner in your crusade.” Perdita commented as the Arrow lead her down the stairs to the police.  
     “I get the feeling we'll be disagreeing quit a bit.” The Arrow said.  
     “A good partner challenges you to do better, she will keep you on your toes.” Perdita said with forethought, then with a smile “I expect to be invited to the wedding.”  
     The Arrow felt himself blushing and was supremely glad that his hood kept anyone from seeing. Their conversation was interrupted by the SCPD officers approaching them with raised guns. The Arrow stopped, and Perdita followed his lead, but before any of the officers could start threatening him Detective Lance pushed through them and ordered them to stand down.  
     “Well the SWAT team found Merlyn and Vertigo, right where you said, but you know we can't keep Count Vertigo in custody with his diplomatic immunity.” The Detective said, strait to the point.  
     “Count Vertigo is no longer recognized as a diplomatic agent of Vlatava. I hereby revoke his diplomatic immunity. Feel free to prosecute Werner Vertigo as you see fit Detective Lance.” Queen Perdita announced.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so there's a little bit of Arrowverse mixed in here, because that's where I know the most about Green Arrow from, so a lot of it is accidental, or just seemed like it wouldn't work unless I wrote it that way, and I guess nobody in this story yet is a part of the Justice League, if it even exists, so Green Arrow has more of a vigilante vibe than superhero, so making his costumed identity more dark and growly just seemed like the way that made sense. Merlyn and Vertigo are NOT their Arrowverse versions though.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, it looks like I got better at mixing the Bat scenes and the Arrow scenes, so you get an update on both this time! Sorry for the delay, among other things I was using all my free time to read an 800+ page book. Also, I accidentally threw in more Arrowverse info than I meant to for this chapter, oops.

***Gotham***  
      The world around her was grey, not a flicker of purple in sight. Her suit had been replaced with baggy and stained men's clothes, that smelled like they had been pulled from the bottom of the hamper. They were smart enough to know she had tools all over her suit to help her escape from any trap, not that it would be easy in her current condition. She rolled her head to look at the other side of the cage, nothing new there, just the same grey everything. _Where was she?_ She couldn't remember much about being captured, just flashes of crawling through vents and losing Isis, before waking in this place and feeling sick. She groaned and the world faded out just as someone's boots came into view.  
***  
     They were in Tim's room again, and Jason hadn't been back to the room Alfred had made up for him since that first night. Jason had pulled Tim away from his computer and back to bed, determined that Tim get enough sleep to recover properly from his recent injuries. They had curled up together, Jason once again more comfortable than he could ever in his life remember, and Jason had begun to share his plan. Which apparently Tim was not a fan of.  
     “You want to go back into the League of Assassins on your own?” Tim demanded, rising up to his hands and knees to look him in the eye.  
     “With Deathstroke's movements in the area I already have a way into the League. I can practically walk right in, and Damian is _good_ , as long as there's a ride waiting for him he could probably get out on his own.” Jason explained.  
     “That's assuming he trusts you! That he wants to go anywhere with you! You can't just walk into a League of Assassins stronghold and walk out with their leader's grandson!” Tim demanded.  
     “I can and I will and I'll bring you a souvenir.”  
     “Jason something could go wrong, you don't need to do this alone, just wait for Bruce to finish up this Red Claw case and we can all work on this together.”  
     A particularly unpleasant suggestion, Jason doubted working with The Batman on a case about the League of Assassins would do anything to help convince Bruce not to put him in the nearest cell he could find and throw away the key. Besides, after Dick's intel about Deathstroke's movements Jason had a hunch that the League was about to take a serious hit, not that he was going to tell Tim that his way in was a small army assaulting the hundreds of years old castle headquarters of the League of Assassins.  
     “I know what I'm doing, and I'm going crazy just waiting around here while Bruce sorts out Ca-ah this Red Claw case.” Jason said, nearly revealing Bruce's soulmate to Tim even though he was fairly certain that he was the only one Bruce had actually told about the woman being his soulmate. Not that a house full of detectives didn't have a decent shot at figuring it out all on their own but outright telling anyone probably wasn't what Bruce wanted.  
     “I'm not a kid running off without backup on a wild goose chase, I'm asking you to help me plan it right now! You'll know my timetable, where I should be when, if something goes wrong” which he was confident wouldn't happen “you can rat me out to the Bat. Besides, I'm a member of the league. The sooner I go the safer I'll be, before their spies find out about you and me and give Talia a reason to doubt my loyalty. If I go now then I can be in and out, mission complete before Bruce even has time to come up with a 'barge in and make demands of the leader of an ancient assassin army' plan.” Jason finally gave up on trying to tug Tim back down next to him on the bed and sat up to face his soulmate.  
     “This is a bad idea, I'm not-”  
     “So you don't trust me to know my own capabilities? If Bruce said he was doing this you wouldn't say no. When he tells you whatever plan he does come up with are you going to object to any part of it or is it just me no one thinks can come up with a usable plan?” Jason demanded, jumping from the bed and pacing, trying to stay calm as he felt the pit fueled rage claw at him. _No. He didn't want to hurt Tim. This couldn't happen now. No._  
     “Jason? Are you alright?”  
     He heard the words distantly, not entirely understanding their meaning. Turning to Tim, who hadn't moved from the bed and was watching him nervously he growled out his next words. “I'm going to do this, you can help or stay out of the way.”  
***Star City***  
     “So what brings you to Star City, beautiful?” Arrow asked her.  
     They had met up as planned and were now sitting in a darkened corner of a coffee shop Arrow had chosen. Apparently he'd saved one of the waitress's lives and now they could sit in the shop in costume without worrying about anyone calling the police. Something she was grateful for, she'd only narrowly avoided being seen by the police, and one detective in particular back at the airport. Laurel knew it was irrational, she hadn't seen her father in over a decade, there was no way he would recognize her behind the mask of a vigilante but she still didn't feel safe taking that chance.  
     “I'm trying to find someone.”  
     “You said something about a sister before.” Arrow said in response to her vague answer.  
     “Yes, my younger sister, she and her friends want to be heroes and came here to talk some of their classmates out of doing something stupid. Which really just puts her in danger too, and now I have to find them all before something bad happens to all of them.”  
     “You really like being vague, huh?”  
     She did actually. Just because the Arrow was her soulmate didn't mean she felt safe trusting him. She didn't know anything about the man under the hood, and this was her little sister's safety they were discussing.  
     “I'm looking for a woman named Roulette. She runs a metahuman fight ring, called Metabrawl. If you've kept up with the news out of Dakota City,” which she had no reason to assume the Star City vigilante was doing, “there's a whole new crop of teenage metahumans thanks to the Big Bang. Roulette decided to try recruiting some of them.”  
     “I've heard a little about it, just what makes national news, I thought most of the 'Bang Babies' were gang members?”  
     “That's true, the Big Bang happened during a gang war, the two biggest gangs in Dakota City were there, but the chemicals that mutated them spread to a bit of the surrounding area and other people became metas too. The point is, that a bunch of angry teenagers with superpowers who I've been dragging back to the cops every time they rob an arcade jumped at the chance to travel halfway across the country and use their powers in violent fights that will earn them a lot of money. My sister and some of her friends decided it was a good idea to chase after their classmates and bring them back home.”  
     “Well, it's an admirable idea, but they don't have much experience with all of this do they?” Arrow asked sympathetically.  
     Laurel wondered how much training his sidekick had, if capability was where he drew the line. “I've been trying to keep them out of all this. Learning to control their powers is fine, but being a vigilante is dangerous, and untrained kids shouldn't be doing it. To be honest, the only reason _I_ put on a mask was because it was the only way I could convince my sister not to. So far she and her friends have agreed that they'd just be getting in my way and have stepped back to let me take care of everything, I knew it wasn't going to last, but I wasn't expecting an out of state trip.”  
     “I haven't dealt with Roulette before, though I'd heard of her by reputation in China. I'm _surprised_ ” and Laurel could tell he meant _angry_ “that I hadn't heard she was operating here in Star.”  
     “She has resources, and only the rich and powerful are invited to her 'events'.” Laurel explained, after all, she hadn't heard anything about Roulette recruiting Bang Babies until her sister had left town.  
     “Well then, all the more reason...”  
     Laurel assumed she wasn't actually supposed to hear the words he whispered to himself, though she wasn't sure what he meant by them.  
***  
     Oliver and his soulmate, who's name he still didn't actually know, had parted ways outside of the coffee shop. They had decided to meet up again the next night, after he'd started digging up what he could about Roulette and Metabrawl and she'd had time to get some sleep after her flight and the fight at the airport. His first stop, the next morning after he too had gotten some sleep, was Queen manor. He'd moved into his own place once he'd adopted Roy, so that they would have more access to the Arrowcave, but if the wealthy elite of Star City were being invited to a private metahuman fight club and he didn't know anything about it then Moira Queen would.  
     Which is why he redirected his mother's insistent reminder of the dinner party she was hosting in a few weeks to ask her about Metabrawl. “Actually mom, I've been hearing rumors lately about some kind of metahuman fight club, and I wondered why I haven't heard of it before. Apparently everyone with a certain net worth is on the guest list.”  
     “Where did you hear about that horrible Roulette woman? I tried so hard to keep her away from you.” Moira asked, setting her teacup down.  
     “Like I said, there has been talk about it lately. Why don't I know about it though, if even you do?”  
     “Oliver, you have a tendency to join in on these sort of misguided group events and I didn't want you to be tempted, betting on people who beat each other unconscious for entertainment isn't something I want you participating in.”  
     “You think I would?"  
     “Ah... I think you've done a lot of things, much of it has been on the news over the years. Why are you so interested in this now? If you aren't planning on going to one of these fights?”  
     “Because a friend of mine is worried about someone they think is involved. They came to me for help, assuming I already knew about it, but it turns out I had no idea what they were talking about.”  
     “Well it sounds like you should have directed this friend of yours to the police.” Moira said.  
     “Okay. Look, can you just tell me what you know about all of this? I'll tell my friend everything so that when they talk to the police they might actually know what's going on.”  
     She clearly didn't believe he was going to stay out of it, but she told him what little she knew anyway, and went to get the most recent invitation she'd been sent.  
***Gotham***  
     “So we can eliminate everyone who's already found their soulmates, obviously, and everyone you've already spent enough time around to know isn't your soulmate. With the number of parties you've been to that's a good portion of the guest list.” Tim said as he started crossing names off of the printout.  
     “It's probably more likely that it's one of the waiters or something right? He'd probably get clingy with whoever it was that kept bringing him drinks.” Jason teased lightly.  
     Dick sighed and looked forlornly at the stacks of paper on the table between them. So many people had been at that auction, _how was he ever going to re-meet them all, and what if someone was there who wasn't on the list?_  
     “Hey, wouldn't they know who you are at least? How come they haven't just shown up here? Do you think they were as drunk as you were?” Jason asked suddenly.  
     “That's a possibility, or they could be intimidated, if it's one of the employees. Maybe they only know the Dick Grayson from the tabloids and don't know what kind of reaction you'll have to them when you're sober.” Tim added, looking at Dick for a reaction.  
     He really didn't know what to say. He was just feeling so down about the whole situation, and Tim made a good point, _did his soulmate even want to be with him?_ The way he acted at those parties, anyone in the circles Bette and the other socialites traveled in probably wouldn't understand why he had to put on that act for everyone. Anyone who wasn't among the entitled elite would probably think he was just another shallow heir wasting his life. _Either way, who would want the Dick Grayson he pretended to be?_  
     “Dick? Are you okay?” Tim asked when he didn't answer.  
     “I... I'm just worried about this date with Bette.” He lied.  
     “Master Dick, Miss Kane is here.” Alfred announced from the doorway with scary timing.  
     “Well good luck with _that_.” Jason scoffed.  
     “We'll keep going through the list, we can talk about it more when you get back.” Tim cast him a sympathetic look as Dick rose from his chair slowly, as though he was about to walk to his doom.  
     Bette was waiting at the door, practically bouncing with excitement at finally getting a date with him. He knew she just honestly liked him, it wasn't her fault that he didn't return her feelings, or that he basically couldn't stand her personality. So he always tried to be polite. She didn't deserve to be rejected because of feelings he kept to himself, locked up behind a mask he wore around everyone who expected him to be the second coming of Bruce Wayne, Billionaire Playboy.  
     Taking him by the arm and dragging him along faster as they exited the manor and got into the hired car Bette's nonstop chatter filled his ears. “Dick this is going to be the best date ever, I've planned the whole day! We'll go have brunch at the Popover Pantry, and then we'll go shopping, and then we'll see the newest exhibit at the museum, the one with the new Egyptian Kings display! Oh aren't you excited?”  
     “Of course.” Dick said, smiling weakly as she just kept on laying out the rest of the day. This was going to be one of the longest days of his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this Roulette and the scenes relating to her are more based on a combo of the DCAU's Justice League Unlimited and the Supergirl episode with Miss Martian fighting for Roulette, NOT the Roulette from Earth-1 of the Arrowverse. Which, okay, now I can't find where Roulette was in the Arrow series, but I thought I remembered that she was, in like one episode where Oliver had to fight in a tiny illegal casino or something and he'd like, already heard of her from his 'five years not really on the island'.... did that all not happen? Roulette I mean.  
> Yes for this story Black Canary is starting her career as the hero of Dakota City! There's going to be more backstory on that later, I had like 15 ideas that eventually lead to this  
> And I don't really know businesses and locations in Gotham, so the Popover Pantry is actually from How I Met Your Mother, I don't know why that just *popped* into my head but it did so whatever~


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and somehow it's been forever since the last update again booooooooooo.

***Gotham***  
     _Everything was going so well!_ It was just as wonderful as Bette had always imagined it would be. A date with Dick Grayson, the boy she'd been fascinated with since the day her cousin had adopted him. She'd been surprised that she hadn't seen him put his acrobatic talents from the circus to good use in competition, she'd expected him to be her equal, winning competition after competition and being a pageant darling. He was so gorgeous that he would be a perfect model even now, but for some reason it was like his acrobatic talents had just disappeared overnight. He was just so mysterious and perfect, she wished sometimes that everyone could choose their soulmates, so that she could be with him forever. Bette knew that she would probably forget all about Dick Grayson when her real soulmate swept her off her feet, but she hadn't met him yet, and until she did she wanted to be in love with Dick.  
     Bette sighed dreamily as she walked arm in arm with Dick through the museum. The day had gone just about as perfectly as she could have hoped, she had Dick's undivided attention all day and they'd gone everywhere she'd wanted. She giggled, thinking of weather or not she'd manage to sneak in a kiss before the end of their date. Dick glanced at her, obviously curious about what had made her laugh but she just pointed out one of the displays and dragged him off towards it.  
     They were just reaching the central display of the collection when everyone in the room looked up at the crack of a whip. Back lit by the spotlights aimed at the display a woman in a catsuit stood proudly, practically posing for the crowd. Bette knew pageantry, she'd been a beauty queen since she was five and she could tell that this woman was putting on a show to get everyone's attention. She certainly had Dick's undivided attention, Bette noticed sourly. Her date was staring up at the woman with such intense interest that Bette was instantly jealous. She'd never seen that look in his eyes before, not for her or for anyone else.  
     The woman leapt from her perch and crashed through a display case, setting an alarm blaring and snatched the item on display before she leaped again to a window and disappeared. The crowd was shouting excitedly as security guards rushed into the room and Bette found herself being pulled into another wing of the museum by Dick, who led them outside through a side door.  
     “What are you doing? We shouldn't just leave.” She asked, confused.  
     Dick paused before speaking, as though coming up with an explanation for his behavior on the spot. “Do you want to spend the rest of our date being interviewed by the police? It's not like we know anything more about what just happened than anyone else in there.”  
     “Oh Dick, you're so clever!” Bette exclaimed. Whatever his real reason for wanting to get out of there was didn't matter, as long as he was happy to continue their wonderful day together.  
***  
     They'd kept pouring over the lists well after Dick had left with Bette, but eventually there was nothing more they could do without him so they'd curled up together on the couch and flipped on the television. Tim snuggled into the warmth of Jason's arms, wrapped around him and holding him close, he felt so peaceful and relaxed. It was always so difficult for him to forget about everything he was worried about but with Jason right here with him it felt like he had nothing to fear.  
     He tilted his head up to look at Jason's face, brushing his nose along his soulmate's jaw. Jason glanced down at him with a raised eyebrow and suddenly a wicked smile stretched his lips. A hand slipped under Tim's shirt and fingers grazed up the skin of his back making him shiver. He gasped and Jason leaned down to catch his lips in a kiss that had Tim squirming up into Jason's lap. He wished his arm wasn't still in its cast, he only had one arm that he could really use and he wanted to wrap both arms around his soulmate without having to be careful of a cast. The kiss deepened and Tim's eyes slipped closed as Jason did something with his tongue. Tim hadn't kissed anyone before Jason, and Jason had been treating him so carefully these past few days that this was only their third kiss. He wasn't prepared for the effect it was having on him, he felt like his whole body was vibrating with energy and he just wanted to be impossibly closer to his soulmate. He wasn't sure how he ended up on his back with Jason above him, covering him completely but it was perfect and he never wanted to move again.  
     He heard distantly when the show was suddenly interrupted by local news announcing a robbery at the museum by a woman dressed like a cat. Above him Jason froze, pulling away slowly to take a look at the screen. Tim whined, almost wanted to cry when Jason pulled away from him. He didn't want to stop, to lose his soulmate's touch, to be alone again.  
     “You should call Bruce.” Jason said, sitting up and moving completely away from him.  
     Tim whimpered again at the loss of all contact but he knew he had to act normal about this, like Jason was, so he levered himself up off the couch to head for the cave. At least Jason followed him to the clock, brushing another kiss against his temple before Tim stepped through the passage, though Jason was too wary of the cave to venture down without Bruce's order and instead hung back as Tim went on alone.  
     When he called through the batcomputer Bruce picked up immediately and said he was on his way to the cave even though he was at Wayne Enterprises today. By the time he arrived Tim had pulled up every broadcast on the theft and quickly summarized the event for Bruce, who just as Jason had apparently expected was intensely interested in the perpetrator. Bruce took over the computer, Tim wasn't sure what he was looking for and he wouldn't say when Tim asked, just set him to the DNA scan of the hairs left at the scene that they'd hacked into in the GCPD database.  
     As they watched footage one of the museum visitors had managed to catch of the thief Bruce called Jason down to the cave to have a look. The two seemed to share a silent conversation that Tim couldn't decipher, leaving him confused as he didn't understand what secret the two of them could have between them after only a few days that they didn't feel they could share with him. Eventually though Jason just studied the footage for himself. Leaving Tim to stare at Batman hoping for an explanation that he didn't receive.  
     “Yeah, I'd say that's probably Red Claw, I certainly remember the form and stance well enough. It doesn't look like she's bothering to hide her tells since there shouldn't be anyone here in Gotham who can identify her.” Jason eventually shared.  
     “Then Red Claw and the new Catwoman thief are working together?” Tim asked.  
     “It's more likely that Catwoman ran afoul of Red Claw's plans and has been captured. I can't imagine what purpose Red Claw would have for a cat statuette and this clearly puts Catwoman at the scene of the crime.” Bruce insisted.  
     “So a purposely poorly executed frame. Red Claw wants the police looking at Catwoman. She wouldn't have been careless enough to have left her own hair, it probably will match to the real Catwoman.” Jason added.  
     “This might not be Red Claw's only move tonight, Tim, contact me with the results of the DNA test.” Bruce ordered as he moved to suit up.  
     Moments later, as the Batmobile sped away Tim turned to Jason. “Are you going to tell me what that was all about?” Tim asked as he followed Jason back out of the cave.  
     “Ask him.” Was all Jason had to say on the matter.  
     Tim was nervous, according to Jason's plan he would be leaving tonight since both Bruce and Dick were otherwise occupied and wouldn't notice he was gone until he was too far away for them to catch him.  
     “Are you sure you really want to do this?” Tim asked. He and Jason had gone over and over Jason's plan last night, and despite Tim's doubts Jason did have an accurate and detailed plan once he actually explained every location he knew the layout to and every clearance he'd been granted within the League. It could work, Tim just didn't want Jason running off to do something so dangerous just days after they'd finally, truly met. He knew his doubts were just his own sentimental feelings getting in the way of the mission but he couldn't seem to help it, he wanted Jason to be safe. He wanted Jason to be here, not halfway around the world surrounded by assassins and mercenaries he had every intention of betraying.  
     Jason nodded, but didn't otherwise bother to answer. He was lacing up his boots and planned to take Dick's motorcycle into Gotham, though not all the way to the apartment that had what he needed to get back overseas.  
     “Are you sure-” Tim started.  
     Jason stood and pulled him into a hug. “Yes, I'm not waiting for Bruce to get his act together and decide he's got time to deal with this. The longer this waits the more upset Damian will be when he finds out how long his father knew about him and didn't try to find him.”  
     “Yeah.” Tim mumbled, burying his face in Jason's shoulder. He knew firsthand how a kid would feel having his dad ignore his existence for who knows how long.  
***  
     The apartment was more of an armory now, than anything else. He had been using it to store some of the weapons he'd gotten attached to that he'd confiscated from various criminals he'd taken down over the past weeks. He wouldn't be able to use most of them now, if he was going to stick around the manor with Tim. Batman would probably insist he turn over all of his caches to the GCPD. He sighed with a last look at some of the guns he'd never had a chance to use and grabbed the duffel bag he'd come here for. It contained his spare armor and hood and a fake passports and other papers he would need to get back to the League's stronghold.  
     Jason locked up the apartment just as carefully as he'd unlocked it, no sense in letting some idiot blow themselves up with his security system before Batman tracked him back to this building. He made the trip to the docks on his own motorcycle, having left Dick's in a parking garage downtown before walking here. He and Tim had arranged for passage out of Gotham on a ship leaving tonight and even though he was leaving immediately he still felt the frustration of a trip that was just taking forever.

***  
      Maven paced across the living room of the apartment she shared with Selina. Her friend hadn't been home in nearly forty-eight hours, and she knew that Selina hadn't meant to be gone past sunrise. After all it would be much easier to find Catwoman if she was seen out during the day. She'd never been so worried for her friend before, but now she was realizing that there was no one she could call for help, Selina was truly on her own out there.  
     As she spun on her heel again she saw a brief flash of movement in the glass coffee table and turned back to see an intruder grabbing for her. She stumbled out of the way, terrified that she hadn't even heard him enter the apartment, and tried to dodge around the furniture away from him. Instead of winning her room to move the intruder leapt over the couch and grabbed her, latching hands around her throat and forcing her to the floor. Maven struggled but nothing seemed to move him and she was getting dizzy. Suddenly the intruder was wrenched away from her and as Maven coughed and rolled up to her knees she saw Batman fighting off the intruder. A sudden shove from the intruder sent Batman back and the intruder leapt through the still open window.  
     Batman seemed to scan the apartment for other intruders and then turned to her. “Where is Selina?”  
     “I-I don't know, she's been missing for two days.” Maven answered quickly, despite the roughness in her throat.  
     Batman helped her to her feet as he spoke. “A woman dressed as Catwoman robbed the museum earlier this evening in front of witnesses. Hairs left behind at the scene match Selina Kyle and the police will be here looking for her soon.”  
     “That can't have been her! She was headed to Multigon to find out why it's so important that they get the land she wanted for the mountain lions!” Maven insisted. She didn't even consider keeping the information back from the soulmate of her missing friend. Anything that Batman needed to find Selina she would gladly reveal if her friend could just be found safe.  
     Batman studied her for a moment. “Pack what you need, you can't talk to the police and that won't be the last attack sent after you if you remain easy to find.”  
     “Where exactly do you suggest I go then? I need to be here in case Selina comes back!” Maven insisted.  
     “I don't believe Selina currently has the freedom to return here, and I suspect she would much prefer to know that you are safe. I have a secure location that you won't be expected to be.”  
     Maven thought it over as Batman stood imposingly motionless in the shadows. She could see why he was such an effective deterrent to minor criminals, if she didn't have reason to trust him she'd be shaking with fright just at the sight of him.  
     “I'm only trusting you because you're Selina's soulmate. I'd better not regret it.” She said finally, going to pack her things as he'd suggested.  
     Fifteen minutes later she was standing in the alley behind the apartment building next to Batman as the Batmobile tore up the road and came to a screeching halt beside them. She was shocked when the roof slid back to reveal no driver, _did Batman really send a car going at these speeds through Gotham's streets without a person behind the wheel?_ Batman lifted her suitcases into the back of the car and helped her climb into the passenger seat, but before she could protest he was stepping back from the car as the roof slid shut again.  
     “Wait! You aren't going to drive this thing yourself?” She practically screamed to him as the car roared away.  
***Star City***  
     “So, how much were you even able to find in twelve hours?” Laurel asked as the Arrow climbed out of the driver's side of an unmarked van.  
     “Enough to get us into the next brawl.”  
     “You know the location?” She said in surprise.  
     “I have an invitation. We go in as civilians and get a look at what we're dealing with, and if we find your sister we may be able to follow her after the event.”  
     “How did you get an invite to Metabrwal within twelve hours of hearing it even exists?” Laurel asked incredulously.  
     “That's a secret for another location. We need to look rich, so I've go us some disguises, if you don't mind wearing a dress?” He said as he opened the van's back doors.  
     “Getting into the back of a van with a stranger, are you sure I can trust you Mr. Vigilante?” Laurel teased as she climbed in. There was more room than she'd been expecting, and two garment bags were hanging from a hook. “I guess this is the end of the secret identities.”  
     The Arrow pulled the doors closed behind him. “Well the invitation is for the Queen family, so for tonight my name is Oliver Queen.” He said, throwing back his hood.  
     _For tonight. Sure._ Laurel thought as they changed. She'd seen the stories on Oliver Queen's rescue from the island he'd been stranded on for five years, and now that she'd seen him out of just about everything but his domino mask she could confidently confirm that Oliver was the Arrow. She didn't say anything though, she'd 'learn' his identity eventually as his soulmate.  
     “The problem isn't that you can't 'pass' for Oliver Queen, it's that you look so much like Oliver Queen that people are going to accuse him of being the Arrow.” Laurel said as they pulled into the parking area twenty minutes later. “Here, I have an idea, we'll trade.” She pulled off her own mask and held it out to Oliver.  
     “Your idea is to unmask me here?” He asked.  
     “No, we switch masks, then you'll look like you'll be here as the Black Canary and I'll be here as the Arrow. We can make it a cute story if anyone asks.” She explained.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh My Gosh... I did not mean to go this long without an update! This chapter is by FAR the shortest so far but I just REALLY wanted to get something posted so that you guys know that this isn't abandoned, because it's NOT!!!! I am not going to forget about this story! Unfortunately I have been working on a lot of ideas for other fandoms (because I just can't help myself apparently) almost NONE of which are ready to post so it's been really annoying for me because I keep distracting myself jumping from one story to another (seriously, I wrote more than 28,000 words of a story and I can't even post it because I started writing it at chapter 3 so I have to go back and add the beginning!) and I've started more than 12 other new stories too, like outlines and a scene here and there, so I just keep getting distracted, but I FINALLY managed to get something done for Technicolor! ... ... ...

***Star City***  
     The inside of the building wasn't much more polished than the outside, but then she probably shouldn't have suspected different from an illegal fighting ring, even if it was tailored to wealthy patrons. Looking around Laurel didn't recognize anyone under their masks, but then this wasn't her city. Maybe Arrow knew who some of them were. She stayed where she was for now, hanging off Arrow's arm like an obvious plus one who would never get into an event like this without a date, as she surveyed the room. They were in a huge warehouse, mostly just one open room but along one wall were doors to semi-trucks that she assumed were where the combatants were kept until their fights. Between the doors and the crowd was a large makeshift cage of what looked like basic steel. Apparently a few tables with fancy snacks and champagne was enough to convince the Star City elite that this was a high class event.  
     The mingling seemed to be going well, even if Laurel didn't have much to say, especially when someone named Tommy clapped Arrow on the back and professed himself amazed that her date had an interest in super-powered cage fighting. Whoever this Tommy was he seemed to know enough about the event that he took Arrow and his date under his wing and introduced them around to all the high rollers who would be placing bets on the fights and laying out the rules the fighters had to abide by, of which there were few. It mostly consisted of 'don't kill you're opponent, the bloodstains are difficult enough to clean up and we don't need to be disposing of bodies every night'.  
     Before Tommy could get anywhere in pestering Arrow for his date's name, Laurel had up to this point been able to endure the man's chatter without saying a word, a woman with a huge snake tattoo winding around her entire body stepped around the cage and introduced herself as Roulette. Laurel tensed but held herself still as the woman introduced the first combatants with a smile.  
***Gotham City***  
     Maven stepped out of the vehicle slowly, still shaking from the terrifying ride. Looking around she realized that she was in an actual cave, bats streaming through the air and spotlights painting huge machines between stalagmites and vehicles parked on bridges spanning over an endless blackness that she stepped warily back from.  
     “There are stairs.” A young voice called out through the cave. “Just stay in the middle if you're worried about it.” The voice added when she didn't move right away.  
     She turned to yank one of her suitcases out of the batmobile and holding it tightly she stepped around the car. Carefully Maven stuck to the middle of the bridge and took slow steps until she reached a stairway that led upwards to what looked like an area of actual floor. When she finally reached the top of the stairs and found her feet planted on solid ground she rushed forwards quickly, away from the edge that dropped off who knew how far into the darkness and she found herself staring at a huge computer screen that illuminated half the floor.  
     The chair in front of the desk turned and with wide eyes she took in the child seated there. He had dark black hair and was wearing a small mask that hid his eyes and a thin cast was wrapped around his left arm.  
     “Maven, right?” He stared up at her, he just looked so small in that big chair. _Robin_. She suddenly realized. Batman's sidekick, this child was Batman's sidekick.  
     “Yes.” She finally answered faintly.  
     “B said you'd be staying a while but he didn't mention if you're supposed to know who we are.” Robin tilted his head and she thought he actually did look a bit birdlike at the gesture. “I don't imagine he expected you to stay in the cave till we find Catwoman though, since you never know how long these things might take so I guess it's up to Penny-One where you can go.”  
     “Indeed it is, Master Drake, and I do believe that Miss would be more comfortable upstairs. If you would follow me?” The man who spoke appeared almost as suddenly as Batman had but at least he was wearing a normal suit.  
     Maven followed the man, Penny-One, up the next set of stairs after he insisted on taking her suitcase. Stepping through the door into a room full of books she turned to see that she'd stepped out of a clock that slid seamlessly back into place, entirely hiding the fact that anything existed behind it but a solid wall.  
     “This way Miss, we'll find a room for you upstairs.” Penny-One said, leading the way through huge hallways full of paintings and statues.  
     Based on the pictures alone this was definitely Bruce Wayne's house. If she'd really needed proof that Bruce Wayne was Batman she had it now. She just hoped that soon Selina would be here to see it as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seriously! Next time I'm gone for more than 30 days go ahead and yell at me to get back to work!


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAnd yet another ridiculously long time gap between chapters.... ugh.... sorry... no excuse currently available.  
> So, I guess I've given myself a new challenge, to post something (a new chapter, a new story... whatever) EVERY day (obviously excluding if I'm like, so sick I can't even get out of bed to eat or out of town or in the hospital or something) so basically I'll either give up on it immediately or you'll be getting a lot of one page chapters... thoughts? Opinions? Bueller?

***Star City***  
     The cheers from the other side of the cage grated against Laurel's ears as she stared down her little sister. She and Arrow had made their way around the ring while the crowd was too busy watching the fight to notice anyone sneaking around and they'd managed to slip into the truck full of small cloth partitioned rooms inside which Sara and her friends were waiting to be called up to the ring.  
     “You are not getting into a cage match against other metas just for a little dubious fame and some cash!” Laurel directed at her sister before addressing the rest of the group.  
     Virgil stood next to Sara, looking more guilty than her sister but still determined. It was, of course, Hotstreak, Kangor, Puff and Onyx who were the problem. Mostly Hotstreak, Sara always ended up trying to one up the other meta when Hotstreak set the bar. She'd known that boy was trouble but Sara had thought a fling with the hothead had been an exciting idea. At least they hadn't been dating since the pyro-meta had added super-powered crimes to his arrest record.  
     “I can't force any of the rest of you out of here, but I can get this place shut down-” Before she could finish speaking Arrow's hand circled her upper arm and pulled her a step back.  
     “Let's stick with the talk that doesn't set us up to fight every meta in the building?” He suggested, loudly enough that the teenagers calmed down again.  
     So maybe they'd taken her words as a threat, she should have been more careful about that, gang members with super-powers weren't likely to respond well if she was threatening to 'snitch' on them or something. She needed to think her words through more carefully. Turning back to her sister Laurel decided to focus on the one battle she _had_ to win. “I need you to make the right decision and come home.”  
     With the argument back on track the junior villains were all grinning now and laughing at White Canary, obviously teasing her for getting scolded and her little sister blushed, getting angry for losing face in front of them. “I can win this! You didn't need to come here, just back off!”  
     They were interrupted by Roulette when the woman flung the curtain open and stepped into the room. “Are we ready everyone? The crowd's already excited to see you fight.” The woman glanced at Arrow and Black Canary, clearly knowing they were up to no good, being back here where they shouldn't be. Laurel wanted to punch the woman, especially after seeing how excited all of the _kids_ were at her announcement.  
***Gotham City***  
_“He killed me and even that wasn't enough proof that Joker wasn't ever going to change.”_  
      _The bang of the gun echoed over and over in the darkness. A spreading pool of blood reflected his face until playing cards of all kinds surfaced, each of them tipping over to reveal bloodstained jokers. His own face swam back into view but his hair was green, he was too pale, he was_ laughing-  
     Tim jolted awake with a scream that he stifled immediately, gasping for breath and shaking his head as he struggled to sit up in bed. A dream, it was just a dream, just a nightmare. He repeated this to himself over and over again but it was of little comfort. He'd killed the Joker, he was just as bad as the clown prince of crime. Maybe something Joker had done, when he'd been their prisoner, had really changed him. _Before Joker had kidnapped him, would he have acted on his desire to kill Joker if he really had gotten the chance?_  
     A knock on the door startled him and he pulled out the batarang he'd taped to the headboard as the door opened a crack. Light from the hallway spilled in and then was blocked out by a woman's face. It took him a moment to remember why she was familiar before he recognized Maven and slipped the batarang back into hiding.  
     “Hello? I heard a scream.” Maven said as she pushed the door open a little wider, peering in at him with concern.  
     Tim's breathing wasn't steady yet, but he answered quickly. “Just had a bad dream. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you.”  
     She kept watching him and he ducked his head, wrapping his arms around his upraised knees and staring blankly as he tried to get his breathing even again.  
     “What was it about?” Maven asked, crossing the room and sitting down on the edge of the bed.  
     Tim blinked up at her, confused. _Why did she want to know? Didn't she want to go back to sleep now that he wasn't making noise?_  
     “You don't have to talk about it, but if you want to, I can listen. If it might make you feel better.” She explained carefully.  
     “I...” Tim looked down again. He couldn't tell her the truth. He couldn't. He'd killed someone, it didn't matter who it was, he'd done it. She didn't want to hear about something like that. “The Joker. I was dreaming about when he kidnapped me.” It was close enough.  
     “Oh.” She reached out to him, Tim was only peripherally aware of her arm moving until her fingers brushed his hair. “I can't even imagine what that was like, I'm sorry.”  
     “It wasn't recent. I have someone, to talk to about it, I just...” Tim hunched lower, still not looking at her. “It just doesn't go away.”  
     The fingers combing through his hair were kind of nice, Tim wasn't quite sure why the feeling made his stomach do a weird sort of flip but he was too tired to think about it. He wished Jason hadn't left, Jason would probably be giving him a hug or something, they'd probably both be sleeping right now. Tim yawned, and hardly noticed that Maven was helping him lean back and pulling the blanket up to his chin. It was weird, _who did things like that for someone who'd woken them up in the middle of the night?_ He blinked sleepily and then his eyes stayed closed and the feeling of Maven's fingers combing his hair lulled him off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...and it's Mom!Maven to the rescue! Apparently. So that happened.  >.>


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ack! I've been trying to post this for DAYS! Technical difficulties. XP  
> Anyway, If there's a super huge gap between updates again check the 'bio' section on my profile for explanations/excuses. :)

***Star City***  
      With a guard on either side of them there was nothing they could do, or more accurately they would have to start and finish a fight with these and all of the rest of Roulette's henchmen before they could get anywhere near the cage to stop the match, by which point White Canary and Static would have probably been rounded up and extracted from this location with the rest of the fighters. They would be back to square one looking for her sister, who would still be just as eager to fight in the next Metabrawl. Laurel cursed internally, scrambling for a plan as they watched Roulette announcing the match to the excited crowd.  
     Frustration and worry churned in her gut as Laurel watched her little sister circling the ring around her friend Virgil. Laurel doubted that Sara had considered that she would be pitted against her closest friend among the group that had joined Roulette's games. She'd probably expected an entirely unknown opponent, but Roulette was smart enough to break up their group by hopefully starting grudges amongst them and thereby isolating the fighters so that her games were all that they could rely on. People like this Roulette woman made Laurel sick and she clenched her fists tightly as the two friends started fighting.  
     White Canary feinted and ducked, whirled and kicked, avoiding as many of Static's shocks as she could. Small bursts of sparks that cascaded off Static's knuckles every time he punched, even when his fists didn't land a blow the sparks still scattered out and occasionally caught White Canary's skin anyway. She would flinch each time but she didn't slow down or freeze, she kept moving to avoid a more serious blow that would only hit her with a stronger blast.  
     Laurel could tell that Sara was holding back, quite a bit, and wondered if any of the oblivious spectators had guessed at the hesitance. A glance at their host proved that Roulette at least was well aware of it and she was not happy. White Canary also seemed to be taking the fight much more seriously than her opponent and Laurel cursed her little sister's stubbornness, she wanted to fight on her own terms and hadn't fully comprehended just how well she was playing into Roulette's game. Laurel held out more hope for Static's sense of responsibility but not much. She didn't know if she could count on him to try to get himself and her sister out of this situation safely.  
     Another blast of sparks, larger this time, drew awed exclamations from the excited crowd. Staggering from the blow and practically bouncing off the fence that surrounded them White Canary tumbled out of the way of another blow and then turned and wrenched a pole from the barrier and threw it like a spear at Static just as he finally loosed a true bolt of electricity untethered from his fists. The electricity caught on the pole and the charged weapon crashed heavily into Static's chest. Oddly, instead of dissipating as Laurel had expected, the electricity crackled louder and seemed to consume Static, who shouted in pain and crumpled to the ground.  
     White Canary was starting toward her downed opponent, and the crowd around them was shouting louder as Static didn't get up. This was not happening.  
     Ignoring Arrow's shout, Black Canary lunged at the guard beside her, taking him by surprise and disarming him before knocking him unconscious. She move quickly enough that she was able to block the blow the second guard aimed at Arrow and she made quick work of him as well, leaving Arrow's identity intact. The spectators around her were already rushing away, shouting as they began to flee the building, and Black Canary was able to approach the cage without having to push through a crowd.  
     White Canary was already kneeling next to Static, having tossed the fence post aside she was trying to check his pulse now. Black Canary took over and was horrified when she didn't find a heartbeat.  
     “He's dead.” Laurel whispered, eyes darting up to her little sister's pale face.  
     “What? No! I didn't...” Sara's hands were shaking as she reached for her friend again.  
     “We need to get out of here, someone will have noticed that crowd running off.” Arrow said as he approached them.  
     Laurel couldn't help feeling a twinge of fury at how callous he was being. Spinning as she rose up quickly she shoved him in the chest. “Static is dead! You heartless-”  
     Before she could finish, Arrow cut her off by grabbing her wrists and pulling her close to share three words in a whisper. “I doubt that.”  
     Laurel blinked at him in shock for a second and then looked back at the boy her sister was crying beside. As she watched a spark traveled over Virgil's skin, and then another. Suddenly his whole body pulsed, jumping up like he'd been hit with a defibrillator and he gasped as his eyes snapped open again.  
     Sara immediately pulled him into a tight hug, stuttering out apologies. Virgil seemed a little startled but otherwise appeared unhurt and Laurel had no idea what to think. She looked back at Arrow, speechless, wondering how he had guessed that Virgil would be alright.  
     “You're alright! How did- I didn't mean to-” Sara's tears were dripping down onto Virgil's skin, bursting in little sparks of electricity every time they landed.  
     Arrow pulled Laurel farther away from the pair before he continued speaking. “You wanted her to learn a lesson? Looks like Static had the same idea. He was faking. I'm not saying I know exactly how he managed it or how he knew he'd be alright, but-”  
     Laurel mock punched him in the jaw, cutting off his words. “Why didn't you say so then!”  
     Rubbing his jaw with a smirk Arrow answered. “Well she has to believe it or she doesn't learn anything, does she?”

***Gotham***  
     In the cages next to her own huddled a number of mountain lions. They growled occasionally, and even in the dark Selina could make out their protruding ribs. Selina kept herself curled up in the center of her own small space, worried that the cats might reach for her with their claws if they got hungry enough. She loved cats, but not enough to become a meal for them.  
     She'd been moved to another room when she was asleep, there must have been something in the small cup of water she'd been given hours ago, because she was sure that she would have woken during the move if she'd _just_ been asleep. Selina didn't know what was going on anymore. She'd thought it was just another businessman trying to destroy an endangered animal's habitat, but what she'd seen proved that there was more to it than that, she just didn't know how far it all went.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I Know! the Gotham part of the chapter is SO short! It bothers me too... Basically I originally intended for chapter 11 and 12 to be all one chapter, but I had writers block and really had to push myself to just write chapter 11 at all. grrr. So then I was going to write something about Batman looking for Selina but every time I thought about it it was just like 'if Batman looks for her then he's GOING to find her, hello, he's BATMAN' and since the past few chapters are all supposed to take place in the same night that was too soon, Selina needs to be missing longer. >.> oh well.


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